Combatant
by In Brightest Day
Summary: Getting transported into this shit show of a world wasn't on my to do list of the day. Becoming a fake of one of their biggest heroes also wasn't on my to do list. But hey, when life hands you lemons…
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary: Getting transported into this shit show of world wasn't on my to do list of the day. Becoming a fake of one of their biggest heroes also wasn't on my to do list. But hey, when life hands you lemons…**_

_**Combatant**_

* * *

How long had it been since I saw the moon? How long had it been since I felt the breeze of a nice night? As I was force fed information, I pondered these questions and more. It had been so _long_ since I left this pod, it was almost maddening.

The only time I was allowed to leave the pod was for combat training. Something that was only able to happen because my _creator_, (and I use that term _very _loosely), thought it would be prudent and beneficial for me to learn how to use abilities instead of relying on the stock footage of my original's many fights.

It was also an opportunity for them to get a thorough analysis on the way my original fights their various enemies. Even if I was a pale imitation of the aforementioned original information was information, no matter the source.

Of course, I felt a sense of shame. After all, I was being used to effectively understand, replicate, counter, and eventually replace the closest thing I have to a parent, to family. But my blood boiled at the thrill of a fight, at the chance to put my enemy six feet into the ground. You see, the thing about my creator was that he believed in survival of the fittest.

Whenever the time came for me to train I would fight their strongest, and if they were unavailable, then I would fight hordes, until either I was dead or they were. Obviously, I would always win, but that's besides the point. The point is that I found that I _really _loved a good fight, no matter the opposition, no matter the circumstance.

You're probably wondering, if they set you free to fight, why didn't you use those chances to escape? Well, allow me to enlighten you; the world was an honest to god scary place. Even for someone as strong as I am, there were still loads of people stronger and smarter than me.

_An image flashed into the forefront of my mind. Seven individuals standing on a stage. Tall, powerful, and unwavering, bringers of justice. All stood in different uniforms, but the one that really stood out was the one with black hair and blue eyes…._

_More images flashed in my mind, most of them involving me standing triumphant above a beaten Justice League, the people of Earth, Humanity, cheering for me as I raised the one with black hair and blue eyes by the throat…_

_Another image showed me clashing with the figure, they're weaker than I am, of course I was made to surpass them it was expected. As we clashed the figure would destroy buildings, streets, cars, that person didn't care for Humanity, for the people were beneath them. The reason why they must be destroyed…_

_A final image was shown. This time it was just the black haired figure shaking hands with the POTUS. Emotions stirred as thoughts not of my own making filled my head. Hatred, loathing, contempt, distrust, enemy, must eliminate, danger to Humanity…_

I did the mental equivalent of a glare.

If I wasn't suspended in this stupid pod I would've punted the little gremlin. Instead, I just forced the thoughts of me kicking it up and down until I got the equivalent of 'sorry' shoved in my head.

That was something I absolutely came to loathe since I first 'awoke' the constant attempts at brainwashing and trying to get me to hate my DNA source was getting annoying. At first I was a little nervous (Downright panicking), but after the first few times and with the help of one of my 'brothers' it was more of an annoyance than anything.

They were planning a way to set both me and my 'older brother' free as we were, in his own words, hope for the rest of their kind. We were like beacons of hope for them, I suppose I should've felt uncomfortable with the whole idea and being put on a pedestal.

But a part of me felt happy…

Was this how my original felt when they were on that stage? Was this what it meant to be a hero? To have others look up to and depend on you and your strength? I was...conflicted. I wanted to know what it felt like to be a hero to others, was this what it meant to be a hero?

_You have a mission_. The gremlins perched atop my pod telepathically told me. They quickly filled me on the details and what my assignment was. The sorcerer Wotan, _an image of him and several other sorcerers standing in a temple performing a ritual_, was trying to blot out the sun.

Wotan isn't meant to succeed, his plan, in the grand scheme of things, is to gather all of the Justice League in one central location, while something _much_ more important goes on behind the scenes, something that my creator didn't have the specifics on. Interesting. But _my _mission was to make sure the League _stayed _there.

I was being dispatched to keep the enemy occupied while the higher ups conducted their shady business. Essentially I was a glorified decoy with a fistful of training, being sent to _stall_ the Justice League. Perfect.

"Genomes!" The nasally and irritating sound of my creator echoed in my ears, "Wake Project War!"

They did as instructed and I opened my eyes to the sight of two men. The first was my creator, an average middle aged man with brown hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a lab coat, blue slacks, and a pair of flip flops. On his left shoulder sat a small Genome. His horns glowing a brief second, to show that he was guiding my actions. When in reality he wasn't, but the other two occupants didn't know or needed to know that.

"And it'll obey any order without question?" The other man stood a few steps behind my creator, his arms crossed, but it was clear he was ready to fight if need be. Clearly, someone's been in a fight before, "And How is it's combat prowess? Normally, I wouldn't go poking in your little laboratory, but I heard about Match and how badly you fucked that one up."

If the creator was angry, he did his best to hide it, it also probably helped that he answered the questions to keep himself calm, "Yes. While Match is irreversibly unstable, and the Superboy lacks the strength of its original, War has retained all of its original's strength and as undergone numerous combat scenarios, with stronger opponents and groups of opponents. War is the perfect weapon for your mission."

The second man looked me up and down, his eyes scanning for any sort of identifiable weakness, "Let's hope so for your sake, doctor. The board will have your head on a pyke if this one turns out to be another failure, but enough about that," He ignored the silently fuming doctor in favor of stepping closer.

"Get down here," He pointed towards the spot in front of him, and I obliged. I simply floated down and allowed my feet to land gently on the ground, just four paces shy of him. He walked up to me and placed a metal collar around my neck.

He backed up, never once taking his eyes off of me, "Listen, clone. I'm Sportsmaster and I'll be your handler for this mission. You step out of line, you hold your punches, you so much as _look_ the wrong way," He reaches into a pouch and pulled out a small black device, "And this will happen," he pressed one of the buttons.

I screamed as I felt electricity travel throughout my entire body. I lowered to a crouch as I tried to claw at the shock collar, _used for Metahumans at Blackgate Penitentiary, Belle Reve, and Stryker's Island_, I knew it was coming, but it still was a bitch and a half to prepare yourself for.

It stopped after a brief second, the message clear as day, " 'Kay Doc, I'll be taking War off your hands now. I'll try to bring it back the same way I'm getting it, but considering who we're facing, it'll be a little damaged."

He turned around and walked away, his intent for me to follow was clear, so I did. But before we could make it to the elevator the creator stopped the handler, "Sportsmaster! When War succeeds, you will speak of my part in making and conditioning him, correct?"

"Of course, Doc." He responded, his tone bored but the creator seemed to believe it, "But first, War has to hold its own against the big leagues."

* * *

The helicopter ride over to the site of the ritual was long and grueling. I personally would have flew here in at least half of the time, but Sportsmaster wanted me riding along to go into further depth of what my role was supposed to be.

While the fact I was a diversion stayed the same (a fact that still made my blood boil at the slight, being reduced to a distraction?! My original would rather _die_!) I would specifically be holding off four leaguers; Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Hawks.

While a majority of my mind was freaking out over the fact that I would be fighting some of their strongest hitters, another part of me was running rampant with childish glee. This was a rare once in a lifetime opportunity, not many people had the chance nor the power to fight four of the Justice League. The fight itself would be of legend! It would be _so _glorious!

The best part about it was that if worse came to worst, I didn't even have to win! I just had to hold them off until our time table was met, and effectively escape, though that was my _official _mission. _My _mission was to eventually escape Cadmus, either with or without Kr, and find somewhere to build a life.

I nodded to myself, perfectly timed with whatever the fuck Sportsmaster was talking about, my 'plan' would come to fruition soon enough. Even if I needed the League's help, I completely intended on taking part of that glorious four on one fight I was promised.

"You'll be at the beach, just a few yards away from the tree line and behind the temple. The rest of the island, will be bottled up, so that will be the only viable point of entry for the heroes. Stall your targets and allow the others to 'slip' past you, you will be as destructive as possible, I want those four _stuck _there until I give the green light."

"Understood," I stood up, the turbulence of the helicopter not hindering me in any shape or form. While he continued to talk over the radio, possible to the villains on stand by, I looked over my gear once more.

While they treated me like an object (again my blood boiled at the disrespect, but I held my tongue) they did give a new outfit, instead of the white jumpsuit I wore back at Cadmus. I was now dressed in all black, a simple long sleeve shirt, cargo pants and boots. It wasn't anything fancy, but it felt good to wear something other than white. They also had me wear a mask that was most commonly seen on a Shadow's body. Possible to not give away who I was and allow me to keep the advantage of surprise.

I walked over towards one of the windows and looked out over the secluded beach. It was actually breathtaking, so serene, so peaceful. It was an honest shame that I would end up destroying it. If only Superboy could've been here. Maybe he might have enjoyed it as well. However, my moment of peace wasn't meant to last.

My senses were a lot sharper than a normal human's, so it wasn't hard to see something emerge from the water, or the accurate term, some_one_. I didn't even need to get a good look at him, I already knew who it was before Sportsmaster even told me to go after him.

Might as well greet the king right? I opened one of the doors, and waited for my handler to give me the okay. Which was in the form of him wagging the trigger for my collar back and forth, "Remember; I want them _stuck_."

I looked back down and prepared to jump, "Understood."

I came crashing down on the beach with a loud boom and a cloud of sand. The cloud didn't last long however. The hero, Red Tornado, created miniature tornados to clear the air, leaving me exposed for the entirety of the league to see. Though I use _entirety_ loosely, as they split up into teams. Given the fact that there was only a handful of them, that fact was pretty obvious.

I looked at each of them, taking into account of who was here and who wasn't. Luckily, my four was here, with the added addition of the machine. This got a little more difficult, but the strategy remains the same. Move fast, strike fast, and…

"Well," I spoke up, voice taking on a hint of overconfidence, "Let's see what we got here, a king that can talk to fish, a princess raised by sexists, a couple of bird nerds, and a metal Pinocchio," I crossed my arms and closed my eyes nodding in satisfaction, "Should be easy enough…"

"Rargh!" And that was Hawkman, easy to anger, hits like a truck, and hates taking hits at his pride. Predictable. He came rushing, and with the added help of his wings, he came in _fast_, but not fast enough. His mace was raised overhead, intent on bashing my skull in.

"Hawkman!"

I simply raised my arms and caught his mace and a strap from his armor. Using his charging momentum, I dug my lead foot into the ground, it cracked and formed a small crater as I dug, and threw him behind me. I heard several trees break and fall as he was sent through the tree line.

It was then that they decided to take me seriously. They all rushed me, with the intent of overpowering me, and they would have if not for one crucial fact. A fact that puts them at a major disadvantage; I knew how they all fought.

Hawkwoman flew in first, her wings giving her an extra boost in speed as she lowered her mace to strike me. Doable, I suppose. I leaped back, the mace coming just a few inches shy of my face. I planted my rear foot in the ground and launched a punch at the leaguer. She blocked with the handle of her mace, but the strength behind it sent her skidding back.

It gave me enough breathing room to deal with Wonder Woman. She threw her lasso at me, in hopes of incapacitating me as quickly as possible, but I had a job that needed to be done. The lasso shone in the sun's light, and I was a little mesmerized by it, though that didn't stop me from catching it with my arm.

Seeing that I was caught, Wonder Woman began to pull. Her strength was immense, a fact that excited me even as I had to keep my feet planted in order to not go flying towards her. She was pulling hand over hand and the closer I got she started to speak, "Speak your name, boy! And the reason for your attack! The lasso compels you!"

The Lasso Of Truth came to life in a flash of gold. It started to radiate a heat so hot that it made me what to tell the truth, just to get it to stop. So, I happily obliged her, "The name's War and I attacked you because I was ordered to!" While it wasn't the whole truth, it was still a _truth_.

Wonder Woman continued to pull me closer, yet it was a slow and delicate process, "Aquaman! Red Tornado!" She called for assistance from the king of Atlantis and the machine. They each came running in, or in the case of the machine, flying in. Aquaman flipped over Wonder Woman and delivered a kick towards my sternum.

"Agh!" I let out some spittle as I was sent skidding back, the lasso slipping from my arm and back towards the awaiting grasp of its owner. Red Tornado decided to create a blast of wind to send me back into the tree line, but I quickly got my wits together and leaped to the right.

Aquaman himself was right on top of me, both his fists clasped together for a heavy blow to my temple, I ducked under it and punched him in the stomach, it only bought me a few moments as it only sent him back a few feet, "You are outmatched child! Surrender and we will be lenient towards your transgressions!"

I prepared myself to follow up, but I was interrupted by my instincts screaming at me. I lowered my back until it was parallel with the ground. It was Hawkwoman. She tried an attack from behind, for some reason the warrior part of me raged at the show of dishonor, but I squashed that feeling down. Instead I pumped as much strength as I could into my arm and sent it upwards towards her exposed stomach.

She let out a gasp of pain as she was propelled back into the air. Not missing the opening I made for myself I did a backflip to right myself and launched myself towards her. My fist reared back for a powerful blow, except it wasn't meant to be.

I was just a few seconds away from the bird woman when a golden lasso latched itself onto my arm, halting me in the air for a small moment, "What..?" I whispered in surprise. It didn't last long however as Wonder Woman pulled on the lasso with all of her might. Sending me crashing back down into the beach below.

It was disorienting if I'm being completely honest, but I quickly shook it off as I made my way outside of the me sized hole I made, "Okay, that was honestly pretty cool, princess," I admitted as I stared into her blue eyes, the same eyes that stared at me with an intensity befitting a warrior, "I guess I can see why they'd be more wary of you than the Kryptonian, after all a true warrior has no easily exploitable weakness on the battlefield."

My words gave them pause, even as they all started to slow encircle me. Wonder Woman asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "Who is this 'they' you speak of child? Is it the sorcerers behind this plot?"

"Ah, Ah, Ah," I wagged my index finger back and forth, a slight teasing and childish tone entering my voice, "Now that would be telling, princess. If I told you now, there wouldn't be a big climactic moment when it dawns on you. Admittedly, I can't wait until all of you figure it out."

I lowered myself into a combat stance, one that made Wonder Woman's eyes widen in shock, "Hera…" Had a feeling she would recognize it immediately, after all it _was _a part of her culture.

"Calling on her won't help you, Princess," I propelled myself forward, using my rear foot for momentum, "She won't help any of you!" I came barreling in at the Princess herself, but was blocked by the King of Atlantis.

"You should learn to respect your betters, boy!" He caught my punch and quickly kneed me in the stomach, I doubled over had the sheer strength behind it, "You've brought this upon yourself! It is time you reaped what you have sown!"

Seeing that I was still standing, he went in for another one, though I would've been damned twice over before I let him do it again, "Shut it you overgrown glorified fish stick!" I caught his knee with my hand and applied enough pressure that he flinched, giving me the opening I needed.

"Now get the fuck off of me," I grabbed the collar of his suit and twisted my body to throw him behind me. Then came Hawkman, even though most of his face was covered, it still showed how absolutely enraged he was.

He came in with a flurry of strikes at such a speed I was forced to backpedal, "Are you angry? Cause I feel like you're angry." He tried for a swiped on my right, but I somehow managed to catch the weapon in between my elbow and knee by the polearm. I looked surprised. He looked surprised. We both were surprised. "Huh, didn't know I had the hand eye coordination to pull that off."

That only seemed to make him madder, if his yell of anger was anything to go off of. And not wanting to be anywhere near a raging berserker, I quickly sent a jab towards his exposed temple. The blow sent him face first into the sand. Completely unmoving, more than likely having blacked out, "Well, sucks to suck bro, that's what you get for choosing the path of a berserker."

I didn't have a chance to enjoy my victory as a powerful gust of wind sent me careening into a nearby tree, "_Motherfucker…!"_ My voice was drowned out by the sounds of the wind picking up speed.

I kinda figured this sort of thing would happen. Red Tornado was more of a Ranged combatant, so when his teammates weren't trying to overpower me, he would start to attack, either to incapacitate me himself or at least buy his team time for a breather.

"Dude, chill the fuck out!" I yelled as I covered my eyes, his winds were picking up the sand and creating a goddamn sand storm, "This is why I fucking hate sand!" It was then I felt something metal impact my jaw, judging by the way it felt it was a mace, possibly Hawkwoman. I only caught a glimpse of her before she went disappeared back into the sand storm.

"Of all the…_?!_" Wonder Woman came barreling out of the storm this time, her lasso wrapped around her hands. I had thought she would go for a frontal attack, but instead she flipped over me, allowing her lasso to meet my neck.

At that moment I knew I wouldn't like what was going to happen next, "_Come on…!_" She knelt down and used her current position to start choking me. I started to reach around wildly, at both the lasso and the air. Hoping to stop this pain and stop myself from possibly dying.

My vision started to swim and everything was slowly getting covered in black. Stop, stop, stop it, stop. I didn't want it to end like this. Not again, not again, not again, not again, not again. She started to crouch lower, increasing the effectiveness of her technique.

Get off of me. Get off of me. _GET OFF OF ME._ I shot straight up into the air. My path only being guided by both my rage and fear. I didn't want to go back into the dark. I wouldn't allow it. Wonder Woman wasn't expecting it, and it showed when her grip loosened a bit. It was just enough to allow me to turn around and grab her by her arm, "Never _again! I'll never be caged again!_" I threw her back down towards the beach, not caring if she recovered(which she probably did) or not.

I felt a gust of wind knock me off balance. I quickly turned around to see Tornado charging towards me. Gusts of red wind moving to flak me from both the right and left.

"Machine!" I flew towards him, faster than any of his attempts to catch me, it tried to attack with more gusts of winds but I easily dodged out of their way. Red Tornado primarily dealt with enemies from long range, so getting up close and personal was the best course of action. I reached him and shoved my fist through his chest, my hand crashing and destroying metal and circuits.

It was a shame he didn't have any light in his eyes to begin with, would've loved to see them fade, "You're bothering me." The winds beneath it began to fade until he was just dangling by my arm. It was completely powered down, I punched it in the face sending it rocketing back towards the beach.

"Tornado!" A rage filled cry demanding justice, Hawkman came flying from the tree line, his mace once again ready to strike, _huh so he's back up again, no doubt thanks to that little sand storm._ "I'll have your head, child!" He screamed as he flew in closer. I was determined to meet him halfway, rocketing down with both my speed and the support of gravity, I reared my fist back posed to punch him with all of my strength.

Our attacks met, my fist colliding with his war mace. There was a shockwave of power that sent us both pullmenting towards the Earth. Though in the end I was the only one that crashed into the ground, as Hawkman was caught by his fellow Hawk.

I felt myself cough up a little blood when I hit the ground, but that was okay. I healed faster than a baseline human. It wouldn't take me long to get back into fighting shape. I moved to get up, but a red heeled boot placed itself on my chest, pinning me towards the ground. It was Wonder Woman, and while most people would've loved the view of the Amazon princess, I had to stop myself from shuddering at such thoughts.

"Surrender now, child!" She demanded as the others started to circle around us, "You will be treated fairly and given medical treatment after we deal with Wotan. Continue these hostilities and you'll only have yourself to blame."

"Surrender?" I asked completely dumbfounded, "Why the hell would I do that?!" I grabbed her leg and threw her off of me. Surrender she says! As if my blood would be satisfied with such a miserable thing. "Where's the fun in such a trivial action?!"

The others started to close in, in response I used my hands as a platform and began to spin. They weren't prepared for the attack and leaped back, opting to just regroup with Wonder Woman, who had already picked herself up. I stopped and got to my feet, waiting for their next move.

"Hawkwoman, Hawkman, and Aquaman, go rendezvous with Superman and his team." She whipped her lasso against the ground, as a show of what's to come, "I'm more than enough to deal with this child."

Of course, I was supposed to stop them, it was my mission, but I had wanted to face Wonder Woman unabated for the longest, and this seemed as a good excuse to do it. While it did go against the mission, Sportsmaster could go screw himself. I subtly scratched my collar, was gonna have to do something about it later.

The other leaguers looked a little apprehensive at being ordered to leave one of their own behind, but they relented quickly enough. Considering she was in charge of their little team, it made sense that they would have such faith in her.

They all nodded, offering words of encouragement as they left for the temple. I placed a hand over my mask and laughed, "Calling me out, Princess? A little rude and definitely hurtful towards my nonexistent pride, but I'd be happy to indulge you!"

We both charged, our speed allowing us to close the gap in between us at a breakneck speed. Our fists collided with enough strength to cause miniature shockwaves. Each impact kicking up sand, unleashing powerful gusts of wind strong enough to knock back trees.

_Thrilling, enjoyable, fun_, is what I'd describe this as. She was moving with such ferocity it was getting steadily harder to keep up with her movements! I had honestly never experienced something remotely close to this before. She eventually decided to duck underneath one of my strikes, and send a roundhouse kick towards my side. I blocked it easy enough, but the strength behind it, still sent me tumbling.

It was fine though. I could fly, so I used that ability to right myself, and not a moment too late as the Amazon was on me once again. Her face set into a one most seen on the battlefield, sweaty, and determined to win. Something that I found that I liked about her. I caught her raised fist and retaliated with one of my own, my fist was also caught.

Our hands began to grip each other and the tide of battle changed once more. Our heels dug into the ground as we tried to make the other submit. The sand wasn't providing the proper strength required to hold our might and as such we began to steadily sink. Whether she also noticed it was lost on me.

I allowed myself to grin, "That's it Princess! Show me the might of the famous Greek Amazons! Show me what it takes to fight beings of immense power! Show me what it takes to stand with gods!" I allowed my excitement to come forth, each sentence bolstering my own resolve to win against her. She however didn't need to worry, she was and will always be stronger than me.

She slowly started to rise as I started to sink. She was steadily adding more and more strength to her grip and legs, "Foolish child! You think this as a game?! That endangering the people of Earth is nothing more than a whimsical gesture?! Allow me to teach you were your mentors have failed!" Her anger towards my demeanor and my apparent disregard towards _my _people, filled her with even more resolve.

"W-what?!" I was forced down on one knee, yet she continued to push down, "How are you so strong? Shit, I knew you were strong princess, but this is fucking ridiculous! If you're like this with just little ole me then I can't imagine how you were on Themyscira!" This wasn't making any sense! She was stronger than me, yes. I knew that. But she wasn't supposed to be _this _stronger.

I quickly raised my eyes to meet her own, and I wish I hadn't. The look she gave was almost enough to make me regret this whole thing. It honestly…hurt. The way she was looking at me. As if I was some sort of...weak and annoying thing…

"You know nothing of strength boy! You are nothing more than a tantrum throwing child!" Then her head came rushing towards mine. The strength behind it coupled with her tiara made it immensely painful.

"_I am not a child!_" I screamed back at her, increasing the strength of my grip, "_You don't know a damn thing about me!_" I then gave her a headbutt of my own, it created a small shockwave that kicked up a portion of the sand. I needed to let go, but she had a death grip on my hands.

If she was dazed by my attack she didn't show it, "So you wish to match me in combat, child? So be it! Let's see if you can withstand the might of the Amazons!" Her head came rushing towards mine once more, and once more was I left seeing stars.

I was over my head, I knew that, it was clear as day, but something deep inside me stirred. If I backed out of this, I had a feeling I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. Even if this existence was a flawed fake, I still had standards. Call it pride or a sense of competition, I refused to back down.

"Oh, yeah?!" I yelled as I reared my head back, resolve as clear as day, "I'll make you eat those words!"

Then everything was covered in black.

* * *

"...is he?"

"...gave an alias."

"...no older than…"

"...fought like you…"

"...curious as well…"

I heard multiple voices when I started to come around. I felt the sand beneath me, so we were still on the beach. But on that note, my mood took a dive. My own attack had caused me to black out. One head butt and I was out like a goddamn light switch. God, it was fucking embarrassing.

I'd never be able to catch up to her at this rate.

Against my better judgment, I gave out a soft sigh, notifying my captors that was awake. All of the League was still here, more than likely just having finished off any stragglers. The collar was still on my neck so I guess that meant they chose not to remove it. Bummer really, I had at least hoped they would remove it. But we can't have our cake and eat it I suppose. They did however remove my mask, allowing my features to be exposed to the world

My was sitting with both of my legs crossed and my arms tied behind my back. The Lasso Of Truth, trailed from Wonder Woman's arms to my back, so I pretty much had a solid idea of where this was going. However, much to my surprise, instead of Batman or Wonder Woman walking up, it was Superman.

Strange. He looked...kind of young. Younger than the Man of Steel should've been in any case.

"Listen, son," He knelt down in front of me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "This can either go one of two ways, both choices are up to you. You can either cooperate and let us know what we want to know and get a reduced sentence in jail or don't and spend up the rest of your childhood in Belle Reve."

I just nodded, there wasn't much for me to say, and my original reaction would leave me in an undesirable position. Superman gave me a smile and nodded towards Batman, "My friend here is going to ask you a few questions, then you'll be on your way."

Batman didn't waste anytime, "Who are you and what was your mission."

The lasso glowed a bright gold, and forced me to tell the truth, "I am Project War, created by Cadmus' cloning technology to combat the growing Metahuman threat. My mission was to stall Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Hawkman, and Hawkwoman for a decent amount of time until my handler said otherwise."

All the leaguers looked at each other, their eyes wary at the implications of me being clone meant. Superman himself looked uneasy, a far contrast to what he was earlier. Having heard about my fight and my abilities, he had a feeling I was his…

"What mission did Cadmus give _you_? What was the purpose Cadmus gave you?" Batman asked as his eyes narrowed into a glare, "What is Project War?"

The lasso glowed once more and I was forced to spell out the entirety of my short existence. The reason why I was created. "My mission is that of a contingency plan. Should the Justice League go rogue or somehow stand against humanity my purpose is to match and destroy all of you."

They each took that in. A soft silence covered the beach, though it was Wonder Woman who broke that silence, "That's absurd! They assumed that we would go against the very people we have sworn to protect?! That one of us would fall to the side of the villains?!"

The lasso burned, forcing me to let out the truth, "Come on, you can't be serious can you? Do you have any idea how much power all of you possess?!" I asked in incredulity as the truth was forced from my mouth, "Standing in front of me is a literal god, an Amazon with _decades_ of fighting experience, two space officers with rings that can make anything, living nuclear energy, a man that can make anything happen just by speaking _backwards_, and a man that moves faster than the speed of _light_!"

I looked at each of them, "Who the _fuck _in their right mind wouldn't be scared of you?" I asked, though I knew no answer would come. Deep down, they knew I was right. Hell, Batman agreed with me! Though no one else in the league knew that, or _needed _to know that.

"Enough," Batman broke the silence this time, choosing to focus on the original line of questioning, "What is Project War?"

Once again I felt the burning sensation of the lasso, compelling me to tell the truth, "Project War is the latest creation of Cadmus. It was clear ever since the Justice League first formed that the American government would have no hope of combating them if they ever decided to go dark," I lowered my eyes, knowing what was coming up next, "They couldn't search for more metas to combat you all, since anyone they would get would either be uncontrollable or be unwilling to go against you, either out of hero worship or fear."

A look of comprehension slowly started to dawn on everyone there, nonetheless I continued to speak, "So if they couldn't find anyone controllable, then they would just make someone controllable."

I looked directly into my original's eyes, taking in the whirl of emotions that shone through her widened eyes, "That is what I am. Project War; Clone of Wonder Woman, made to match, surpass, and eventually replace her should she ever turn from the light."

Everything went silent. As a majority of eyes went towards Wonder Woman. Whose face was frozen in shock and disbelief. She dropped the lasso in her shock as she _really _stared at me

"But...you're a _dude_…" Flash stated with a raised finger. Everybody then turned to him and gave him a look, which he immediately responded with, "_What_?! Don't act like you guys weren't thinking the same thing!"

"Yeah, but at least have some tact," Green Lantern(the Caucasian one) sighed with a shake of his head, "Sometimes I think you really _are _too fast for your own good. Learn to read the mood man."

Batman silenced both of them with a look before turning back to me, "So, Cadmus _made _you to kill and replace Wonder Woman? I find that unlikely, just as Flash had stated earlier, you are a male while she is a woman."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what the plan was with me," I admitted with a nod of my head, "It wouldn't be far from impossible to assume that their cloning procedures are still brand new and that I'm just a beta run until a new model shows up," I shrugged without a care in the world, "At that point, I'm guessing they would just take all of my memories that deal with combat, implant it into the new clone and throw me away."

Some of the leaguers looked a little put out of my free admission of me being a disposable thing, "You can't possibly be _okay _with that, can you?" Wonder Woman whispered as she took a few steps forward. The look on her face was one that I couldn't place, nor would I be able too. After all, I've never had the displeasure of being cloned before.

I looked towards the woman who was essentially my _mother_ and gave her a comforting smile, "Why wouldn't I be?" She looked as if someone had physically struck her, "I'm not like you, Wonder Woman. I have no family, no island paradise to call home, I'm no hero, I'm not even a real _person_!" I laughed and all of the heroes save Batman flinched, "I'm just a thing that'll no doubt be thrown in the trash once I've outlived my usefulness."

I stared in her eyes, her blue orbs filled with pity and another emotion I couldn't place, "My only solace in this short existence of mine is that I got the chance to meet you face to face, even if it was as enemies."

She looked at a loss for words, before she gathered herself and asked, "What is your name?"

The lasso glowed once again, "I already told you, my name is War." I looked at her in confusion, even as her face hardened once more. What was she about to do?

"I _refuse _to call my son such an ugly thing," She stated much to the shock of everyone there, including myself. I had expected her to not even acknowledge me. I had expected her to see me as a violation of all that she stood for.

I was wrong.

"Wonder Woman, are you sure about this?" Superman asked, his tone not even hiding his surprise, "What would the Amazons think? Would he even be allowed to step foot on the island?"

"It matters not Superman," She removed the lasso from around me as she walked towards me, "He is of my blood, he is the closest thing that I will probably ever have to a child." She knelt in front of me and put both of her hands on my collar, "It matters not if you were made to kill me, it matters not that you were not conceived normally…"

She broke the collar around my neck, her eyes soft in the sunlight and showing nothing but maternal love, "You said that you have no family, you were incorrect. Both of us are family, even if you don't agree with it. You don't have to be alone, my son. I _will _treat you as my son," For the first time since I laid eyes on her, her eyes allowed a small amount of weakness to slip through, "That is...if you will have me."

I looked down, I hadn't felt this type of love for _so _long. How long had it been since I last saw my mother? How long had I been dead and stuck inside that pod? How long had it been since I felt…_?!_

She wrapped her hands around me. She, she was giving me a hug, "You are _a person_. You are my _son_. You don't have to be alone anymore, you don't have to be treated like a lab rat anymore."

It. It had been so long since I heard that much care, "Lucas…" I whispered as my arms slowly started to encircle her as well.

"Hmm?"

"Lucas...I want to be called Lucas. Or Luc for short," I felt my eyes begin to water, I can't believe I almost forgot my name. The name my mother gave me…

She gave out a soft laugh, "Of course, my darling Luc. From this day forward you shall be known as Lucas Prince." She put a hand on my cheeks and began to wipe away my tears.

"My son, now and forever…"

* * *

**A/N: Annnnd my muse got the better of me again. So here we have a SI in the form of Wonder Woman's clone, who surprise surprise greeted him with open arms, unlike someone who shan't be named. Not gonna lie, this is sort of inspired by Satire Swift's Assimilation, man can write good ass stories. **

**Anyway since Wonder Woman's son is basically a part of the main cast, she is going to have a more active role, which will drastically change canon. Something to look forward to, I guess. Also his nickname, Luc, is pronounced the same way Eve does in **_**Lucifer**_**. Just thought I'd let you guys know.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Combatant **_

* * *

"Sorry to reign on this touching moment," Hawkman grunted, the inactive body of Red Tornado on his shoulders, "But this doesn't excuse the fact that he disabled Red Tornado for who knows how long. Surely there must be repercussions for such an act."

Wonder Woman stood to her full height, "I agree, Hawkman. If it is alright with the rest of you, I will see to it that Lucas gets disciplined _properly_." She crossed her arms and looked at Batman, "I assume that is alright with both you and Superman?"

Batman's eyes narrowed, "We will need to see if Cadmus had preprogrammed to be a sleeper agent, but if everything checks out then I'll get everything prepared," He turned towards the Martian, "I'm sure you are aware of what I'm asking you to do?"

"Yes, Batman," Martian Manhunter responded, "But I believe it would be best if we were to conduct it away from prying eyes and in privacy."

Nodding, he turned to Hawkman, "I will personally see to it that Red Tornado is able to be put back online. Bring him to our headquarters and I'll take care of the rest."

Hawkman nodded, though his eyes did slide into my direction, "And what punishment will fall on the boy? Granted, I don't doubt in Wonder Woman's ability to go through with such an action, but I believe that she will be slightly more lenient with the punishment. Way more than what he deserves."

"Come on, Hawkman," Flash tried to defend me, "He already told us he was just following orders! And it's not like he had any other choice to begin with, he has an inhibitor collar on him!"

"Be that as it may," Hawkman shifted the machine on his shoulders, "He still needs to be held accountable for his actions. We can't just use the 'I-was-just-following-orders' as an excuse for vile actions, even if he didn't have a choice."

Wonder Woman nodded and turned towards Batman, "He _is _correct, not in the sense that I would be lenient, but about not taking the following orders as an excuse. While I will give him my own form of punishment, I believe that you might also have something in mind?"

The dark knight nodded, "I will run the punishment by you later today, but for now focus on getting him situated and adapted to this lifestyle."

She nodded, before remembering something else, "There is also the need for setting him up with the appropriate documentation to deem him a certified citizen in the eyes of the US government."

"Agreed," Batman nodded and faced towards the rest of the league, "Debriefing will be at 1800 hours. Don't be late." With that the rest of the Justice League was dismissed. All the non flyers, with the exception of the Flash, went with the Lanterns, who created a construct platform that allowed for multiple passengers.

Superman was the last one to leave, giving Wonder Woman a lingering glance before resting eyes on me. Possibly secretly happy and relieved that I wasn't his clone like he had initially feared. I raised an eyebrow at him, "Something I can help you with, Spandex?"

It was kind of funny to see him sputtering, clearly embarrassed. I guess he was still shaken up about the entire clone business, "Ah! N-no! It's nothing!" He quickly turned to Wonder Woman, "See you later, Wonder Woman…" He bid her farewell and lifted off into the sky, leaving just me and my mother on the beach.

I chuckled, "Guess the boyscout isn't comfortable with me. Can't say I blame him though, guy was probably on the verge of losing his shit if I turned out to be his...though that does bring up a future problem…" I began to mutter towards the end, something that my mother wasn't quite able to hear.

"What was that, Luc?" She asked, turning from the fleeting view of her fellow heroes to look at me.

"Nothing!" I said as I scrambled to my feet, "Just a fleeting thought. So I guess we're about to blow this shit show and go somewhere else?" I began to float closer to Wonder Woman, "Can't say I've actually had the experience of flying, besides while in combat, but I'm sure you could teach me!"

She just looked bemused, "Well, my son, I suppose I can start teaching you _now_. After all, it wouldn't be right of me to not be a proper mentor to you and help you along the way." She chuckled when she saw my face, which must have looked funny, even if I didn't think it was.

"Mentor?" I asked, "What do you mean by that? Like fucking being a hero and all that jazz?"

Wonder Woman's face morphed into a small frown, "First of all, language young man. That crass language is unbecoming of an Amazon. Secondly, of course, don't think I forgot about how the thrill of battle appealed to you. Normally, such a thing would be frowned upon, but I believe that with the right guidance it can be used as a force for good."

She then started to float in the air, beckoning time to fellow, "Now, come along. It's time for our first lesson. I have no doubt that it'll come to you naturally, but if there is no proper foundation, then nothing good will come of it."

"Yes ma'am," I started to rise higher and higher, trying to catch the woman. Flying was hard to describe, but the closest I could compare it to was waiting at the apex of a roller coaster ride. Those few minuscule seconds before the coaster allowed gravity to take over, that feeling of freedom, that feeling of not being weighed down by anything.

It was amazing.

"There you go!" Wonder Woman smiled, her voice full of pride, "The trick is to not think about anything, don't even focus on your balance, just allow your body to float. Just like you're swimming in water."

Soon enough I had gained enough altitude that was face to face with Wonder Woman again, "This. Is. So. _Cool_! I've never been this high up before, well that's not true, I came from a helicopter earlier, but my point still stands!"

She looked amused, but also curious, "Did they not train you in flight? I would have thought that they would seek to improve all of your capabilities, not just the ones useable for combat."

"That's the thing," I started, putting my hands in my pockets as I looked at the destroyed beach, "They trained me for combat _only_. Sure there were a few fights were I had to fly, but those rare instances were just to practice aerial dodges, recovery, and changing the flow of battle not to mention few and far between. I get the main _idea _behind it, but applying that knowledge in practice is a _very _different thing."

Wonder Woman nodded, completely understanding where I was coming from, "So they gave you the knowledge, but never gave you the means to apply said knowledge? For shame, we'll have to change that as soon as possible. Won't we, son?"

"Yeah," I responded absentmindedly, focused on the beach that we were currently hovering over. An action that didn't escape the woman's notice.

Floating over, she rested a hand on my shoulder, "It's not your fault, Lucas. We've all done terrible things in the past, the best thing for you to do is to take this and learn from it. Look back on this as not a scene of failure, but one of knowledge, of one that led to your freedom."

I nodded, but didn't look away, "This was the first time I left Cadmus, you know? My first mission and it was against the Justice League, I'm not sure if they were dumbasses or just too overconfident, but I'm glad I got sent here. Even if it was as nothing more than a glorified punching bag."

"Why is that?" She sounded genuinely curious, like she really wanted to get to know me. Well, she _was _my mother after all, naturally she'd want to know more about me. Still felt surreal though.

"Well, for one I got to meet you," I got a smile and a head pat in return, "And while I'm embarrassed to say it, I got to fight you guys." I scratched the back of my head at Wonder Woman's raised eyebrow.

"So you _wanted _to fight us?" Wonder Woman asked her tone flat, "You really are a battle manic, aren't you?" She gave me a small comforting grin, "Guess that's another thing you get from me, or more specifically, my family."

I gave her a smile of my own. It was comforting to know that while she may not have approved of my lust for battle, she at least _understood _what it was like to have it and what it did to you. "Had a feeling. But anyway, it was kinda like a dream come true, you know? Like something you always wondered about, but was unable to go through with it because of something or someone else? Have you ever felt like that, Wonder Woman?"

At my question she gained a wistful look, as if remembering a long and distant memory, "You have no idea, Lucas. And stop calling me Wonder Woman when it's just the two of us. You can call me mom, I promise I won't have an aneurysm or anything similar."

I raised an eyebrow, "Thought you wanted us to remain professional, you know, since we're probably going to be working together and you training me and everything."

She rolled her eyes, amusement filling her eyes, "Naturally. But I did say when it was just the two of us, right? While I personally wouldn't mind nor would I be upset, we must maintain a proper relationship when out in public, when we're Wonder Woman and Wonder Boy."

I cringed. I legitimately tried not to, but the name sounded so vile to my ears, I couldn't help it. She noticed it and gave me a questioning look, "What? You don't like the name?" She rested a hand on her hip as she gave me a look.

"What?! No! I _love _that name," I lied through the skin of my teeth, it sounded so _lame_, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her feel like she failed in some way! "It's a _really _good name!"

She stared at me some more before sighing, "You don't have to lie to me, Lucas. Either you like the name or not, you're not going to hurt my feelings and your not going to make me mad at you. After all, while you may not have to choose _now_, eventually you'll have to take up a name that people can call you by."

"So you don't really care? That I don't like the name?" I asked for confirmation, when she shook her head I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Oh thank _god_! I don't think I've ever cringed at anything harder in my life."

She frowned, "The name wasn't _that _bad."

I gave her a flat look before she relented, "Well, I will admit, it does sound a tad bit tasteless…"

"A tad you say.."

"But I'll have you know that my last apprentice _loved _the name I gave her!" She pointed at me with a smile, "It's practically tradition that we Amazons carry on the Wonder adjective!" She held a look of childish glee, a face that one would rarely see on her, "Don't you agree, son?!"

I would've outright refused, but something she said gave me pause, "Hold on, 'practically tradition'? What do you mean by that? Weren't you the first Amazon to leave Themyscira?" While I remembered very little about her, that was one of the crucial points in her history.

She looked surprised, "They didn't teach you about that? I thought they taught everything involving me?" She asked, completely intrigued at my lack of knowledge, "Of course, I doubt they themselves would know, but I'm sure if they showed you, you would've been able to figure it out."

I looked at her completely confused, "No, they didn't? What the hell are you on about, mom? You're making it sound like your apart of some giant ass conspiracy theory."

She looked ready to admonish me for my language before she sighed, "Well, it's not a _conspiracy _per se, it's more of a secret that I keep at the behest of my mother, your grandmother, for both her sake and mine. Only a select few individuals know about it, and I'm telling you this because I don't want to lie to you."

"Okay? I appreciate the honesty, but can you not keep me in suspense, it's torture!" I said, only to get a laugh in response. I rolled my eyes, I've only known her for a day and already knew she was childish. Too bad the rest of the world didn't know.

"The truth is; I'm not the first Wonder Woman, my mother was," My eyes widened, that...couldn't be possible...could it? I mean, I know for a fact she wouldn't lie to me, but surely someone had to figure it out, right? "She was originally a member of the Justice Society back in World War Two. From what she told me, a fighter pilot crash landed on Themyscira during the height of the war and asked her for her help. She agreed and fought with both him and the Society on the frontlines. Granted, she was made a member of the Society, but she only joined to help the cause and went back home soon after."

I looked at her shocked, "Then, if that's the case, how long have _you _been Wonder Woman? How long have you been fighting?" This...this was _new_. I had originally thought that it was this Wonder Woman that had been active since World War Two, but this changes things. But the real question is; why keep it a secret?

"Since the middle of the Cold War," She admitted, "Since the start of the Vietnam War to be specific. Not that large of a time gap, but a decade is still a decade. While my mother was Wonder Woman, I was still on the island training to take up the mantle. I had only achieved the title a year prior to the Vietnam War, and only started working with the Society a few months into said War."

"But why keep it a secret?"

"Now _that _would be telling, Luc," She threw my previous line right back at me, "Now come on, it's time I taught you how to accelerate and decelerate."

* * *

It didn't take long for us to reach our destination, which turned out to be a small town on the coast of Hawaii. There were a few moments of me losing control, but since Wonder Woman was there it all worked out. She didn't even make fun of me, she just offered tips and broke it down so it'd be easier to understand.

But back to the task at hand. We had to fly above the town for a couple of minutes before we reached our actual destination, a junkyard littered with destroyed cars and metal.

"Why are we here?" I asked as we hovered over the junkyard, "Don't tell me the Justice League is actual broke and their real base is a junkyard." I then put a hand to my chin in thought, "Actual that's a pretty good idea, nobody would think the League's main base was in the middle of a literal shit yard."

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes, "This isn't a League base, this is just a transport to one. We're here to take a Zeta beam to one of our old bases. Specifically the one in Happy Harbour. And how many times am I going to have to get on you about your language?" She then started to float forward, looking for said Zeta beam platform.

I shrugged at the woman, "Eh. What you see is what you get, I happen to like the colorful side of the English language. Adds a little flavour to everyday life."

I began to follow behind her only for her to stop in front of an old telephone booth, "Wait, don't tell me. It's bigger on the inside? You know, like that one show with the immortal and wisecracking doctor?"

She opened the booth, from the way it looked the birth should've at least made a loud noise, but it didn't, "Never heard of it. Anyway, stay here, I'll go through first so you can get cleared. You'll know when you're ready to go through."

"Okay…? Still a little lost on what's supposed to happen…_?!_"

"_Recognized; Wonder Woman, Zero-Three._" A computerized, female sounding voice came from the phone booth as Wonder Woman was bathed in a bright light and an instance later she was gone.

I slowly walked up to it, curiously inspecting it, but not touching anything, "Hot damn, teleportation is an honest to god thing here. Hope a fly doesn't accidentally end up in here with me. I actually like my good looks." Why was I talking to myself? Just to make sure the surrealness of everything around me.

"So...do I just wait here? Or do I just start randomly start pressing shit?" That's when I noticed a highly advanced keyboard hologram thing where a phone would be, "A part of me is saying no, but my inner tech geek? Now, that's saying something completely different."

But before I could do anything, the voice from before came to life as the teleporter began to whirl to life, "_Recognized; Lucas Prince, A Zero Three." _I was bathed in a golden light and next thing I knew I wasn't at a junkyard anymore. Instead I was in some sort of long metal tube.

"What the actual fuck?" I spoke aloud, walking towards the end of it greeted me to the sight of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Martian Manhunter. All standing in a circle looking at a few floating holograms, "What the shit…." I whispered, but since two of the rooms occupants had super hearing I might as well have said it at my normal voice.

Wonder Woman gave me a slight smile, gesturing me over. I floated over and landed right next to her, "I gotta say, this is pretty cool, are all of your bases like this? It's like we're in a secret spy base, like the Men In Black or the Kingsmen or like the…"

"Enough." Batman's voice held no room for argument as he cut through both my triad and my enthusiasm. Wonder Woman gave him a slight glare, but that didn't deter him in the slightest, "We have a job to do and we can't afford to waste anymore time. I assume you know what I'm referring too?

"Yes?" I said, squinting my right eye, "You were gonna have Manhunter here see if I have any sleeper agent type programming in my head, and while I can see _why _you'd check that, I'd personally not have anyone go rooting around in my head. Gotta keep _some _things to myself, you know?"

Wonder Woman put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Be that as it may, this is just a necessary precaution to make sure they didn't put anything unsavory while they, for lack of a better term, made you. It's a very intrusive process and you may not want to do it, but this is the only way we can be sure that you aren't a tool Cadmus is using to destroy us from the inside."

Manhunter also spoke up, "I will only search for anything out of the ordinary, any and all of your personal memories won't be touched. You have my word."

I looked at both of the heroes, my face held a look of releclant resignation, "I'd rather not have _anyone _in my head again if I can help it, but if this is the only way, then I guess I never had a choice to begin with, huh?"

Wonder Woman looked a little worried at my presumption of not having a choice, but instead of voicing her worry she just gave a firm nod. She turned towards Manhunter, "Treat my son well." It wasn't a question or a simple statement. It was an order. A demand that held repercussions if not heeded.

"Of course," The green Martian then turned towards me, "This will only take a few minutes, however I suggest you make yourself as comfortable as you possibly can. So, if you would please follow me." He then walked off with me just a few steps behind him.

I'm not sure if they made to follow or not, but it didn't really matter to me. I just wanted to get this over with. Hopefully, Manhunter will keep his word and not go digging for anything he doesn't have too. I'm not sure if he'd go insane from the knowledge and having the whole league of my back for driving one of its founding members to insanity was something I wasn't ready to deal with.

"So," I started awkwardly, "How do ya like Earth? Must be _loads _better than Mars. Well, in the sense of the diverse cultures, environments, and varying forms of life and all that. The people here suck though." I tried to keep the venom out of my voice, but it was for naught. Even after all this time I still couldn't get over what had happened.

"From an outsiders point of view, yes the Earth is very interesting." He agreed, but raised an eyebrow at me, "However, I find your animosity towards the populace troubling." I shrugged with a small chuckle.

"I'm not gonna destroy all life on Earth if that's what you're getting at," I reassured him, "I just hate how the human race as a whole always finds a way to go to war with itself and hate itself. I don't see the point of people hating others that are just like them, minus a few factors of course."

"All races are like that Lucas," He responded, his voice holding the same sort of ageless wisdom Wonder Woman had, "While I do see and appreciate your point of thinking, it is just in the nature of humanity to be at war with itself, whether we wish it or not. The same can be said for other beings out in the stars, the best we can do is mitigate the casualties and conflicts and save as many lives as we can."

"That blows," I said, "But maybe...maybe that's all we can do."

* * *

"I don't like this, Bruce." Wonder Woman spoke from Batman's right. Currently, she and the bat themed hero were looking at the various holographic monitors, "I understand the reasoning behind what you're doing, but he's only been alive for a few _weeks_, if that. We could lose his trust, _I _could lose his trust."

Brice stood silent, typing on a holographic keyboard, before he spoke again, "We _have _to be sure, Diana. There are hidden forces at play, Cadmus being one of them. We can't be too cautious when dealing with Lucas. For all we know he could've been programmed to destroy the League from the inside out, starting with you."

"He's not that bad of a kid, be better if he'd tone down his use of foul language," She defended her son, "You honestly believe that he would be capable of committing such an atrocity on his lonesome?"

"Mentally? It would probably never cross his mind," Batman admitted, "But we can't rule out any possibilities. As I'm sure you are aware, he is exceptionally strong even if he is a clone, being able to hold his own against four members of the Justice League at the physical age of _fifteen_ warrants the necessary precautions."

Being the type of person she was and with her history, she could understand his viewpoint. After all, if Cadmus made a clone of her that was strong enough to keep both her and three other members of the League at bay, who's to say that they haven't created _more_.

"It just feels _wrong_, Bruce," She because she understood, didn't mean she had to agree, "He is just a child, as much as he hates to be told that, with little to no experience with the outside world. All he knows is combat," She paused before remembering the multiple things they talked about on their flight to a nearby Zeta tube, "And, oddly enough, pop-culture references."

Batman stilled, "Pop-culture references?"

She personally didn't think anything of it, until now that is, "Yes, at first I didn't think anything of it, but the things referenced, I see no reason for his creators to implant that type of knowledge into him. From his own admission, they created him for the sole purpose of combat. It makes no sense."

"There's more to this than it seems," Batman mused to himself, continuing to type on the holographic keyboard in front of him, "But onto the domestic matters relating to your son. I have all the paperwork ready and have already sent the various copies to your personal email."

"Thank you," Wonder Woman nodded, "Am I right in assuming all of his documents are already in the system?" She walked closer and peered over his shoulder. Personally, she didn't agree with this sort of subterfuge, but if it was for her son she'd stomach it. If only barely.

Speaking of her son, that brought upon multiple things that she needed to take care of once his security clearance was done. She had to get him moved into her apartment, and go out shopping for clothing, hygiene, and any personal items he wanted or required.

There was also the need to get him a functional suit. Of course, she could get that done by going to Themyscira, but that itself opened a whole other can of problems. She was happy to have Lucas, nothing and no one could change that, but how would her sisters react to him? How would her mother?

For the first time since stepping foot off of Themyscira, she felt apprehensive, _A problem for another time I suppose_. Now wasn't the time to overwhelm herself with such thoughts. It was then she heard a rather loud alarm coming from the various holograms.

"A crime alert?" Wonder Woman asked. She watched as several news channels appeared on the monitors. Each describing and showing the Cadmus building. It was shaking with the ground around it being littered with glass, "Is it a villain attack?"

"Negative," Batman's hands blurred across the keyboard, "This requires a full league response. First Wotan, and now this incident with Cadmus? Too much of a coincidence and add on the knowledge that we gained from Lucas, there is definitely something going on behind the scenes."

"And it all points towards Cadmus?" She needed to have a few words with the people that _cloned _her. Something that Bruce picked up on, but chose not to commit on.

"It all points towards Cadmus." He turned around and headed for the Zeta tubes, "We'll all meet at the Hall of Justice and provide assistance to any endangered civilians along the way."

"What's going on?" She turned around to see Martian Manhunter flying towards them, followed by her son, "The hell is with that alarm? Oh! Does that mean there's a bad guy that needs to get their ass kicked? Please say it is!"

Wonder Woman sighed, "Once again with the language…" She shook her head with a small smile, he was so easily excitable when it came to combat, "Maybe, but for now we're just going to check out a minor incident in D.C."

Her son raised an eyebrow, "Minor? Then why does it require a full League response?" She was about to answer, but was cut off by Batman.

"That's on a need to know basis, Lucas," Batman turned towards Manhunter, "Were there any complications that I should know about?"

"No, Batman," The Martian glanced at her son, who upon seeing said glance began to look elsewhere, "However, there are more pressing issues regarding him that I need to talk to both you and Wonder Woman about. In private, if possible."

She raised an eyebrow at her son, only to be met with a forceful aversion of his eyes. An action that he hadn't done since they first met, excluding when they fought.

Strange.

Batman nodded, before turning back towards the zeta tube. The golden zeta beam washed over him before a voice declared, "_Recognized; Batman, Zero-Two."_ Then he was gone.

"Wait," Lucas said from behind Manhunter, "What about me? Please tell me you aren't gonna have me stay here like I'm grounded. Come on, mom! Please!" He started to shake his arms in a typical begging fashion with a worried expression on his face.

"I will leave you two alone," Martian Manhunter said in a very neutral tone, though she could pick up the smallest amount of levity in it. She sighed, and for some reason she had the feeling that she'd be doing it a lot in the near future. "_Recognized; Martian Manhunter, Zero-Seven."_

"So you really want to go?" He nodded so fast she was worried about his head popping off, "Just so you're aware, there probably won't be any action, you know? At best the local authorities already have it handled and we'll just be there to lend a helping hand."

Her son paused for a moment. Although she had only known him for a short period of time she was already able to pick out a key factor about him. Lucas Prince, her son, was hardwired for battle. It's true that it came from her family, a trait that caused one to feel nothing but the lust for battle.

She didn't have it, thank the gods above, but him having it made her more scared than anything less. If his battlelust wasn't handled properly, then he would end up becoming a danger to the League and the world as a whole.

Another reason she had to go to Themyscira. Her mother had experienced several Amazons over the millennia to develop such a trait, unfortunately only a hand full remained alive to this day. Hopefully, for the well-being of her son, her mother knew what to do.

She watched as a multitude of emotions spread across his face, before a determined look began rest on it, "I'll still go. It's what you're training me to be right? A hero that'll help the people in their time of need? As long as there's people out there, I'll help in any way I can." He ended with a nod.

She allowed pride to seep into her being, if only for a short amount of time, "Couldn't have said it better myself, Lucas."

With that attitude, maybe there was nothing to worry about.

* * *

We(Myself and the League) landed in front of a destroyed Cadmus laboratories. Rubble was strewn about and half of the street we were standing on was destroyed, making it look like a giant as pothole.

But other than that, the first thing I noticed, "Kr?" I asked as I floated towards him, "Brother, do you know who I am?" He looked the exact same as when I last saw him. Short black hair and piercing blue eyes, wearing that white solar suit with a red shield on the front, "Do you remember me?"

Everyone present turned towards me, though Robin, _protégé of The Batman, operates from the shadows within Gotham City, rarely seen with other heroes_, was the first to speak, "Project War! The clone that was sent to fight the Justice League!"

"Spoilers. I won," I flashed him a grin, before turning towards my brother, my face grim, "But enough about me, do you not remember me?" My brother shook his head, though his eyes did show a little bit of life when I referred to him as my brother.

"I know of you," Superboy said, "I know what our joint purpose was, but as far as _knowing _you. I'm sorry, I just don't." He sounded genuinely regretful. Of course, I had expected this, unlike me, Superboy was kept inside his pod for most of his short life. Both a blessing and a curse.

"I had _hoped_...but I guess it was rather foolish of me…" I shook my head and put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile, "Doesn't matter. I'm happy that you're free, brother. I look forward to getting to know you."

He gave me a small smile, "So do I," he paused unsure of something before shaking his head, "So do I, brother." I nodded at him then turned towards the three sidekicks.

"Thank you for setting my brother free," I bowed before them, "Should you need _anything _let me know and I'll do all I can to make it possible."

"No problem…" Kid Flash, _protégé of The Flash, not as fast as his mentor, operates within Central City, rarely seen with other heroes_, said, unsure of what else to say.

I then turned towards my mother, her face staring at both me and Superboy, "He's not yours, if that's what you're wondering, Wonder Woman." I jerked a thumb at Superman, a bored expression on my face. It was interesting to see the sheer number of raw emotions that flickered across his face. It was _worse _than when he met me, possibly because this one was actually _his_.

"Kr's his."

* * *

**A/N: Not as long as the first one, but hope you guys enjoy this. I'm glad that this is getting a lot of positive feedback. Feel free to offer any pointers you guys have. **

**Also, how's my interpretation of Wonder Woman? This is literally the first time I'm writing her, and given how see was rarely used in the first season, I don't have a lot to go off of. **

**And those of you wondering why Lucas needed Wonder Woman to teach him how to fly it's because he **_**couldn't **_**grasp the idea behind it. You could make the argument that Match and Superboy instinctively knew how, but that was only while in combat, not for long distances. **

**Onto the Battlelust, not gonna lie, I had this idea when playing Fate/Grand Order. Specifically, I got it from Penthesilea, who is an actual Amazon from Greek myths. Though in her case it's more of a murder boner, but the back bones are still there. **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Combatant **_

* * *

A few heroes broke off from the main group, taking that blue creature thing to either a jail cell in Belle Reve Penitentiary or to Star to see if the changes were reversible. But I wasn't overly concerned with that, I was more concerned with the little huddle Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter made off to the side.

The subject of their discussion was obvious for everyone present, thus no one felt the need to interrupt. Not even someone as tactless as me. I allowed my eyes to linger on the trio for a moment, before Manhunter noticed. We met eyes briefly before I quickly averted my eyes and turned towards my brother, who was also staring at the huddle.

Or more specifically, his original.

"Kr," I grabbed my brother's attention, "Look, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Superman might not be," I paused to find the right word, "_comfortable_ with you at first, after all you have to see it from his viewpoint. You were made for the sole purpose of killing him, it's only natural that he'd be a little apprehensive of you at first."

Kr nodded slowly, "But...he _knows _that I don't want that anymore, right? I helped free Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad, isn't...isn't that enough?" He sounded so heartbroken.

I gave him a comforting smile. I had no idea what to do to help him, but the least I could do was offer my support, "Kr, I'll _always _be by your side, even if Superman doesn't accept you, even if the _world _doesn't...I'll always be your brother." I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Though we are of different lineages, we _are _brothers."

It helped raise his mood, though clearly it wasn't enough. It irked me that Kr felt more of a kinship with his original than he did with me, but there wasn't anything I could do about that, not in any way that would matter.

But, at the very least, he knew that I was here for him, even if his original wasn't.

"Ahem," Speaking of the Devil, "Sorry to interrupt," God he sounded so awkward, like a deadbeat dad seeing his son for the first time in sixteen years, "We'll, uh, we'll figure something out for you. The league will, I mean" he hastily corrected.

Kr crossed his arms and Superman looked down, unsure of what to do, "But for now, I'll, uh, I'll go check to see if they have that blockbuster creature squared away." Without a proper farewell he took off for the skies, leaving both me and Kr to watch him slowly fly out of sight.

I clenched my fist, trying to reign in my anger. _That _wasn't Superman. I may not have known much about the man, but I knew enough about his character to know that _that _wasn't him. To just _brush off_ a child, his own _son_, no less...it just…?!

I felt a hand fall on my shoulder and was greeted with the sight of yellow and red, "Huh, War, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "But I prefer to go by Lucas. Kid Flash, right?" He nodded, "Cool, so what you need, bro?"

He seemed a little weirded out, probably because of my mannerisms, but otherwise seemed to roll with it, "I'm just have trouble believing that _you _took on the entirety of the League, by yourself, without any help." I should've been offended, but I could see where he was coming from.

"Well, I didn't fight _all _of them," I corrected, "I only fought five of them, each are still heavy hitters in their own right. And in case you were wondering, no I didn't beat them. I got my ass kicked, carrot top."

"Carrot top?!"

I shrugged, ignoring him to focus on the three heroes approaching us, "Cadmus will be under a _detailed _investigation. All fifty-two sublevels and databases." Batman led, followed by the Flash on his right and Aquaman on his left. He narrowed his eyes, "But make no mistake, what you did today. Disobeying a direct order, breaking into a government sanctioned facility, and destroying said government facility. It was the epitome of stupidity and recklessness. You should've…"

The Flash interrupted him, "You should've _called_. All of this collateral damage could've been avoided if you just took a step back and _called_."

The three protégés at least had the decency to look ashamed. Then Batman turned to me, "And _you_. Why didn't you tell us about this. About there being another clone, one of _Superman _no less."

"Whoa, Whoa, _Whoa_," I raised my hands, "What would you have done?! What was I supposed to say?! '_yeah, by the way, Cadmus made a clone of the big blue boyscout, may wanna do something about that.'_?" I said, sarcasm filling my tone, "You _saw _how he reacted, all of you did! How could I have been sure that he wouldn't come down here himself and get rid of my brother?!"

"Dude," Kid Flash whispered, his tone was filled with awe, or shock, couldn't tell, "Superman would _never _do that! Are you even aware of what you just insinuated?!"

Yeah, I knew, I just didn't care, "_Look_, I don't expect any of you to get where I'm coming from, considering you all have the privilege of being _your own person_, but I withheld that information for the sake of Kr. So that he might have a chance at a _normal _life."

"_Still_," Batman's voice cut through clearing, brokering no room for interruptions, "Withholding information, with you currently being on _very _thin ice, wasn't the best _or _smartest thing to do. A trait that these three seem to share with you. _None _of you will be doing this again."

"But is this not what you trained us for?" Aqualad asked, taking a step towards Batman, "Is this not what we're meant to do?" Aqualad tried to reason, only for his mentor to put a stop to it.

"Stand _down_, Aqualad." Aquaman warned. The warning went unheeded however.

The protégé of the sea shook his head, "Forgive me, my king, but I will do no such thing." Aqualad tried to reason to Batman, gesturing to his fellow protégés plus Kr, "We did a good job tonight, the job _you_ taught us to do."

"Y-Yeah," Robin hastily agreed, "If you don't want us to do the job, then why train us at all? Do you not trust us? Even after everything we've been through?"

"We all signed up for this gig," Kid Flash added, standing next to the other protégés, his arms crossed, "We knew and accepted the risks, and we've been shadowing you guys for years! Isn't it about time the training wheels got taken off?"

The three heroes looked at each other, still not convinced. That was when Superboy spoke up. Walking in front of the three protégés, his face set into a hard glare, "I don't get why we're letting them tell us what to do. Why should we let them tell us what to do at all? It's simple; either get on board or get out of the way."

All four of them stood, each determined to show what they were made of. That they were ready for the big leagues. Silence reigned supreme in our little group, until Batman broke it, "Give me three days."

The protégés exchanged looks, before Kid Flash shrugged, "Three days doesn't seem that long." With that done they began to walk towards their respective mentors, more than likely getting ready to head back to each of their homes.

But then Kid Flash stopped, "Uh, guys?" He gestured towards the both of us, "What about Superboy and War?"

The three of them looked at each other, not sure of what to do with us, but that was when Wonder Woman walked up. She didn't look pleased, whether it was because of Superman or because of me I couldn't be sure, "Don't worry about Lucas. He will be living with me from now on," She declared, to the shock of the three sidekicks and Superboy.

She turned towards Batman, "However, you will need to find the proper accommodations for Superboy. I had initially hoped Superman would look after him, but…"

"Don't worry!" Kid Flash said, a little too eagerly for my tastes, "Supey can stay with me. I'm sure my parents won't mind."

I looked at Wonder Woman, my eyes showing my disbelief and sense of betrayal, Why was she keeping me from my brother? "Wonder Woman…"

She silenced me with a glare, "Not. A. Word. Lucas. We'll discuss this once we're home, but for now, just know that you are in _trouble_, young man." She looked at Kid Flash, her look of gratitude a far cry from the look she gave me, "Much appreciated, Kid Flash. See to it that he is well taken care of."

"Yes Ma'am!" Kid Flash said, once again _too _eagerly for my tastes. But I guess I'll let him slide this time, only because he freed Kr.

Not that I could've done anything anyway, because before I knew it, Wonder Woman put a hand on my shoulder a little bit _too _tightly, "Now, if that is all, I have to teach my son the repercussions for lying."

Batman nodded, and all the protégés gave me pitying looks, "I'll contact you and the others when everything is prepared."

Wonder Woman gave a stiff nod, before speaking to me, "Time to go, Lucas. I don't live that far from here so we will be able to fly." She then went into the sky.

I hung my head in defeat, dreading whatever the fuck was going to come next. I turned to Kid Flash, "Hey, thanks for taking Superboy. I know it might turnout to be an inconvenience, but I really appreciate it."

Kid Flash shrugged his shoulders, "No problem, bro. Us protégés gotta stick together right?" He held out his fist, an inviting smile on his face.

"Whatever you say, Carrot top," I joked as I met his fist bump. I turned to give my goodbye to Superboy, only for him to give me a hard look. Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "Superboy? You okay, bro?"

"Fine." He grunted.

It was clear he was anything but fine, but I let it drop for now. I had a pissed off mom to deal with, "Okay...I'll see you later." I nodded at him and ascended to the sky. It only took me a few seconds to see the form of my mother hovering above, waiting for me to catch up.

"So, what I do?" I asked when I reached the same altitude as her, "Cause, while I may not look it, I can pick up on the social cues of someone being mad at me." I tried to hide my fear with fake nonchalance.

Though, considering who I was talking to, it might as well have been pointless, "When were you going to tell me, tell _us_, about there being a clone of Superman. Were you ever going to tell us to begin with or were you just going to sweep him under the rug and pray to the gods we wouldn't find out about him?"

Huh, so we're starting there, "I _was _going to tell you all about him eventually. I didn't tell you all earlier because it didn't seem like the right time to. Considering you all had just finished fighting me, and following that, discovered what I really was. Mentioning that Superman had a clone right then would have served as a conflict of interest."

"A conflict of interest?" She raised an eyebrow at me, "I fail to see how that would serve as a conflict of interest. Please enlighten me."

"I have no qualms about working with the League or you," I started, "It would honestly be a dream come true, and add on the fact that you have accepted me, which I am grateful for, but considering what just happened proves that I cannot fully trust Superman in regards to the treatment of Superboy. I believe I was right to not tell you have his existence."

"Curious," She stated, "Do you not trust in the League's ability to keep Superman in line? Do you not trust _me_?"

"That's not it," I denied, "I trust you all, especially _you_, mother. But what if Superboy wishes to one day join the League? I'm not completely sure how the indoctrination works, but I _do _know that the big blue has to have _some _say on who joins. Wouldn't he veto all of Superboy's attempts?"

"Not likely," Wonder Woman shook her head, "New members of the League are voted in _democratically_, all present members have a say on who joins and who doesn't."

Well, that was one less thing to worry about, "Huh, kinda figured anyone with superpowers could just walk up and ask to join," I shook my head, "But back on topic. With that being the case, would Superman even be willing to work with Kr?"

At that Wonder Woman's eyes became softer, "I am not sure. We had talked about Kr, but Superman seemed, for lack of a better term, _bothered_ by the idea of being cloned. I tried to talk him out of it, but he refused to budge. I fear it will take some time for him to accept Superboy."

Time. This was going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience, "I guessed as much, but I had faith that at least Superman would reach out a helping hand. So much for meeting your heroes, right?"

She frowned, "It isn't all bad, Lucas. I will continue to talk to Superman, either he will listen to me and heed my words or he will not. Hopefully, he will listen, and if not, Superboy will always have us. Won't he?"

"Us?" I asked, my eyes filled with a curious and hopeful light, "What do you mean by us?"

"I see no problems in adopting Superboy, I certainly have the space and funds to support the three of us," She smiled, it was the most beautiful thing I had seen since I left Cadmus, "However, I believe it would be for both our and _his_ benefit to wait and see if Superman will wish to adopt him."

I nodded, "But if that's the case, why didn't you have Superboy come with us?"

"You will have to excuse me if I wish to get to know my own son first," She crossed her arms, and gestured with her hand, "And Superboy, as of now, doesn't need to be around us at the moment. Yes, he might feel alone, but him being with us will only increase his growing jealousy of you, Lucas."

Jealousy? So that's what that was. From what I remember, from looking at his stats, Kr didn't have the full set of Kryptonian powers, flight being one of his missing powers, "...Right. Maybe it'll go away?" I asked her. She looked conflicted for a moment before a small smirk rested on her face.

"I have no doubt that everything will work out in the end, Lucas." She replied, before turning around and taking off, "Now try to keep up! Our home is just a few miles this way!"

"Challenge accepted!"

Maybe things won't be bad after all.

* * *

"Mom?" I asked as I looked at the mostly desolate street. There were a few cars parked on the road and a few street lamps on, but for the most part it was mostly empty. I was dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a Wonder Woman T-shirt. "What are we doing up at four in the morning when the rest of the world is asleep?"

My mother was dressed in a star spangled pair of gym shorts, a bright red tank top, and a pair of red running shoes. It honestly looked a little bit like her super suit, but this one was made for working out. Once again, any other guy would be frothing at the mouth, but me?

Had to stop myself from shuddering, wish she'd wear more. She raised her hands above her head and stretched, basking in the early morning breeze, "We're here because you felt the need to lie to both me and fellow heroes." She said it so calmly, it was then I knew I wouldn't like what was about to happen next.

"But I didn't lie _per se_," I tried to reason, hoping to any god out there that nothing bad would come of this, "I just...left out the part about there being a clone of Superman."

"...And what was my answer the first three times you tried to defend yourself with that?" She then started to stretch her legs, bending down and reaching as far as she could go. Her tone all casual as if I wasn't dreading what was coming.

"That a lie of omission is still a lie," I sighed, as I started to do my warm-ups as well. I had a feeling this was going to take a while, so with resignation filling my voice I asked, "Where are we running too?"

She then transitioned into doing light hops, "Oh, not far Luc. We're just going on a light jog to my little bunker. Shouldn't take any longer than half an hour, maybe forty five minutes if you're slow."

"Half an hour…" I asked stupidly, "How _far _is it?!" A part of me should've been happy that she trusted me with the knowledge of the whereabouts of one of her bases, but I wish it was under better circumstances.

She looked over and gave me a small smirk, it was of the sadistic variety in case you were wondering, "Oh, about ten miles, don't worry though. I'm sure you'll manage. You _are _my son after all." She then started the time on her wrist watch.

Oh my god, we're really doing this, "Ten miles...the fuck mom? Thought you loved me!" I threw my hands in the air as we started at a light jog. My mother laughed, clearly thinking my pain was hilarious, and I would've marveled at how beautiful it sounded if I didn't have to run ten miles in the fucking morning.

"Oh ho! This is just me going easy on you!" She taunted and began to pick up speed, "You should've seen the stuff I did to my last apprentice!" She bragged as she broke out into a full on sprint. "Now, try and keep up! Otherwise, no breakfast for you!"

"No breakfast?!" I broke off into a sprint, trying my hardest to catch her, but only managing to stay within an arms distance of her, "This is such fucking bullshit! How are you so fast! God fucking damnit! We just started and I'm already over this shit!"

It didn't matter if I was a clone of Wonder Woman or not. It didn't matter if I was a full blown meta human. I loathed long distance running with a passion. A loathing that my mother picked up on right away, "So you hate running?! Good to know, Luc! Now keep running!"

"Argghh! Fuck my life!" I yelled to the sky as I tried and failed to match her pace. My ears filled with the sound of my breathing and heartbeat and to add insult to injury, Wonder Woman was also laughing.

God fucking damnit.

* * *

Diana slowed down into a slight walk once she reached their destination. She let out a light breath, all things considered she had enjoyed running with her son. While she would never admit it, his cursing brought about a small amount of sadistic glee within her.

She chuckled a little when he cursed for two miles straight. It was annoying, don't get her wrong, and she'll end up having to discipline him more, but in that moment, it was hilarious. She checked the timer on her watch and noted that she got here at around twenty two minutes, give it take a few seconds.

A new time that she wasn't pushing for but was still happy about. Though that happiness was short lived once she realized her son _still _wasn't here. She glanced at her watch once more, it read twenty four minutes and counting.

"God...fucking...damnit!" She heard her son, judging by the distance she heard his voice, he was just about down with the last hill. If he kept going at his current pace, he'll break her last record of twenty six minutes.

It was honestly impressive and exciting. When she first trained Donna, she had come to the painful realization that her then apprentice lacked the stamina to stay in a prolonged fight. Granted, it was easily fixable, but it took longer to train her in combat techniques when she had to train her body first.

But with Lucas, she might be able to have combat, strategy, and tactics be the starting point of his training with stamina and endurance sprinkled in. Diana allowed herself to smile, it had been a long time since she had trained someone, and she was honestly looking forward to it.

It was why they ran here, after all.

"Ah...finally...done," Her son raised a fist to the sky, relishing in his, for her, a small victory. It was a shame that she'd have to destroy that feeling.

"Not quite Lucas," She began, as she made her way towards him. Making sure he didn't show any signs of passing out, either from dehydration or heat exhaustion. Once satisfied she gave him a proud smile, "However, I do believe a good job is in order. You managed to beat my last record on your first try. I'm proud of you son."

He looked off to the side, possibly trying to hide that blush she definitely didn't notice, "Pssh! It wasn't _that _hard mom! I had in the bag," He laughed and winced, grabbing at his side, "Ah, it hurts to laugh."

She shook her head in amusement, "Don't move too much, take a five minute break, shower and change into a new set of clothes. Then we'll head on over to breakfast."

Her son landed roughly on his butt and prompted himself up with his hands, "Speaking of clothes, when are we going to go shopping? Cause just because I can rock it, doesn't mean I like to wear your last protégés old clothes."

She snorted, "Just be glad she wore unisex clothes when we used to train. Otherwise you'd have ran in that tactical gear you wore on the beach." She watched as he cringed at the thought.

"Eh, you got a point there," He admitted, "But I wish I had something of my own, instead of using hand me downs."

If only he knew why they were here. She gave a soft laugh and started to walk down the adjacent alleyway, "Come on, it's time I showed you were I'll be doing most of your training." She heard him hastily get up and follow behind her.

She stopped at the seemingly dead end and with practiced ease, pressed her hand onto a specific spot on the wall. The response was instantaneous as a light appeared from beneath her hand and began to scan it. A second later, a small door opened and a robotic voice stated, "Welcome back, Wonder Woman."

"An actual secret base," Her son commented with a slack jaw. Adorable, was all she could think, "That. Is. So. Cool! It's like we're secret agents! Is it filled with weapons? I bet it is!"

She laughed, "You were already in one earlier weren't you? And yes, it is filled with weapons." She walked inside, her son just a few steps behind her. His earlier fatigue forgotten in favor of seeing what was inside.

Lights flickered on as they approached. It wasn't as big as the Batcave unfortunately, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in space. In the center was a training mat and on both sides were two large weapon racks. Both filled, with various swords, shields, axes, hammers, and Armaments. All of them having been acquired during her time as Wonder Woman.

On the other side was a Zeta tube, and next to it were several computer monitors. They were mostly there at the behest of Batman, in case she was in here and needed to be reached. Other than that she rarely used them. As a matter a fact she rarely used this base, the last time she frequently used it was when she would train Donna.

"So," Her son started, looking around, trying to soak in every detail, "This is where you operate out of. Kind of small, considering you're one of the big three, but I'm guessing you went with practicality over appearance."

He walked over to one of the racks, "Holy shit, where did you get most of these?" He looked at each of the weapons closely but didn't touch any of them. "This one's a katana! Where'd you get a katana? Aren't you Greek?"

"Yes, I got while on a mission in Japan, one of their heroes gave it to me as a token of gratitude, and yes. Yes, I am." She answered with her arms crossed, "Now, go take a shower, it's further down, on the left. You smell like you just ran ten miles."

"Har dee har," Her son shot back, his tone sarcastic and dry, but he did what he was told and was out of sight in just a short few seconds.

She took her time walking towards the Zeta tube, getting lost in her old memories. Of when it was Wonder Woman and Troia. However, that was in the past, they were in the present. Now, it would be Wonder Woman and whatever codename her son chose.

Shaking her head, Diana typed in her desired location, on the terminal. Once it ran a diagnostic, to ensure travel would be safe and they would be received on the other side intact. She reached up to the ceiling, relishing in the several pops her back produced.

The location she had programmed was that of Themyscira. There she would get Lucas' suit, bracers, and hopefully, lasso, commissioned and begin his training in armed combat. While they _could _do it here, it only seemed right that her son learned swordsmanship in the same place she had.

Naturally, since this would be the home of the Amazon's, a warrior race that prided themselves on being able to fight against all manner of creatures, the training would equate to hell on earth.

That ten mile run was only the beginning of his punishment after all.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, Lucas. You have no idea how much of a sadist this Wonder Woman is. And in case you're wondering, yes, he'll have a code name before the team officially gets formed. Also, like I said before, this is inspired by Satire Swift's Assimilation, so expect a titan or two to appear in the story. One of them is getting hinted at **_**pretty **_**strongly. So, yeah! Tell next time folks. **

**P.S:Sorry for the lack of action, but there will be action, during these in-story three days that Lucas is with Wonder Woman. **


	4. Chapter 4

_**Combatant **_

* * *

"Now, you have to be _extremely _careful," Wonder Woman advised me, having already showered and ate, she stood in her normal hero suit, "The Amazons are very prickly when it comes to males. If you do or say something incredibly stupid or insensitive, you being my son won't save you."

I looked at her, offended, "When have I _ever _done anything that would warrant such a warning?"

"You haven't _yet_," She admitted, "But given your personality and mannerisms, I wouldn't hold my breath."

"Whatever," I grumbled, fumbling with my new clothes, or rather, another set of Donna's old clothes. This time an old black jacket, faded blue jeans, and the running shoes I wore earlier this morning. I _really _needed my own set of clothes, "When am I gonna get my own clothes anyway? This is really starting to get old." I gestured to my own body.

"When we get back from Themyscira," She signed, "How many times do I have to keep telling you?"

"Eh," I shrugged, "Just don't want you to forget. Plus I'm not exactly _comfortable _wearing your old protégés clothes. Makes me feel like I'm just her replacement."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, you aren't." She said firmly, before leading me to the Zeta tube. Knowing what I know about the Amazons, I was a little anxious to meet them. I might have been the son of their princess, but there was no guarantee that they would see me as such a thing.

From an objective standpoint, I was a fake meant to kill their princess. I have no solid clue on how they'd take that bit of information, but I had a feeling it wouldn't put me in the most flattering of lights. Add on the fact that I wasn't naturally conceived, I was looking at the use of the _it _pronoun until I earned their respect or my mom put an end to it, whichever came first.

My mom walked towards the Zeta beam console and began to type on it, "In case you weren't aware, the Zeta Tubes can only be accessed by members of the League and those that we believe are trustworthy enough. I originally would've told you the importance of this during your first usage, but we were pressed for time."

"Okay…" I nodded, slightly curious, "What's the point of you telling me this? I know you don't give out random knowledge without a reason."

"It's not random," She chided me, not even looking up from the monitor as she continued to type, "And I'm telling you this because it's about time you received a more permanent designation. The one you use now is meant only for guests. This one will be for whatever Batman has planned for you and the rest of the protégés."

I nodded, "So I guess this is where I'm going to need a code name?" I knew the answer, but her nodding only confirmed what I already knew. I had already had a name saved in the back of my mind, just in case I ever planned on taking on the hero life.

"So how do I go about it?" I asked as Wonder Woman made her way towards the Zeta Tube. It scanned her and came to life. It didn't send her right away as she took a few steps back. "Like, am I supposed to type it on the console or what? The genomes didn't teach me anything relating to this type of tech."

"Easy. When it scans you and reads off your old designation, just say your new one and then update," she replied, "I'll head on over first, to prepare any one nearby for your arrival. And like I said before, _be careful_, just because I'm the princess doesn't mean I'll get you out of _everything_."

I blinked at her word choice, "But you _could_, right?"

"Possibly," She didn't sound too sure, "But even if I did, you wouldn't learn anything, now would you?" She smirked as she walked through the Zeta Tube. Leaving me to my lonesome.

* * *

Diana walked out the other side with a smile on her face. It had been half a year since she had come home and seen her mother and sisters. Not only did she miss them, she also missed the island itself.

"Diana?" A familiar sounding voice asked, though she knew who it was, it felt too surreal to hear her voice again. She turned to see her mother walking towards her, flanked by two guards dressed in the standard Amazonian armor.

"Mother," She felt a smile spread across her face, "I'm home." She rushed over and gave her mother a hug. Her mother laughed and recuperated in kind.

"Diana! It's so good to see you again," Her mother gave a small laugh, "How has man's world been treating you? Anything I should know about?"

Diana let out a sigh, "Actually, there is something you should know. You see a few days ago, on one of a full League response. We, well _I _came across someone, a clone someone had made of me. And before you say anything, I've already adopted them."

"A clone?" Her mother didn't know how to feel about that, "As in someone _made _another you? Why would you adopt such a thing? That is a violation of the highest order!" Her mother crossed her arms and glared at her.

"Mother!"

"I've told you countless times that man's world is filled with despicable beings," She gestured towards the Zeta Tube, "Their advancement in technology is proof of this. Take your Zeta Tubes as an example, how many people have been on the bad end of its shortcomings? I have seen what this type of technology can do when put in the wrong hands."

"Mother!" She defended, "Me having a clone should be seen as a good thing! This is possibly the only time I'll ever be able to have a child, and one that is not hindered by aging as well! Surely, you can understand my _want _for such a child!"

Her mother sighed, "Leave us." Her two guards stepped back and performed a warrior's salute before quickly exiting the chamber. Her mother looked conflicted, "Diana." She didn't know what to say, before she sighed once more.

"I understand where you're coming from, Hera knows how long I yearned for a child before you were born," She admitted, "But you were a blessing _from _the gods, Diana, however this clone of your's wasn't. We have _no _idea how they'll react if they notice it, because eventually they _will _and I hope to the heavens above that nothing drastic happens."

"But...surely the gods wouldn't _care_," Diana tried to reason, "I am your daughter, mother. Not theirs, they may be the ones we worship and praise, but at the end of it all, they watch us from above while _we _live our lives."

Hippolyta shook her head, "That's not it, Diana. They will see this clone as nothing more than one of Lord Hephaestus automatons. Then to add insult to injury, this thing is from the outside world. Meaning whoever created it tried to play _deity_ and whilst doing so, violated one of _their _followers!"

Her mother raised massaged her forehead, "But enough about that. Another problem for another day," She gave a strained smile on her face, possibly trying to forget the previous conversation, "For now, I do believe it is time that we celebrated your return with the rest of your sisters…_?!_"

The Zeta Tube whirled to life with a robotic voice stating, "_Recognized; Adelitas B Zero-Six." _And out stepped her son. He looked around the chamber, taking in every piece of the interior, before shrugging.

"Eh, thought it would be bigger," He had his hands in his pockets as he walked towards them, "So this is the queen of Themyscira?" He looked at her mother up and down, failing to notice the steadily growing look of disgust on her face, "Well, you _look _like mother, or rather she looks an awful lot like you."

"And who are _you_?" Her mother asked, her voice tight and aggressive. Though it did nothing to deter her son in the slightest, as a matter of fact it had the opposite effect. Her son just smiled and gave a small bow. He looked ready to speak before turning towards her, asking permission.

"I already told her, Lucas," Diana said, and noticing her mother widening her eyes she added, "Lucas, this is my mother, Queen Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Mother, this is Lucas Prince, my clone, my _son_." She stressed the last word, hoping to get her mother to see him as something more than an _it_.

Her mother pressed her lips into a thin line. Her son, however didn't notice, "Well, I would've preferred to introduce myself, but I guess it can't be helped. It's nice to finally meet you, grandmother. Wait. Can I call you that or do you have to get to know me first?"

"It is..._nice_ to meet you too, Lucas," Hippolyta looked like she had just finished swallowing a lemon, "And I would rather you not call me grandmother or anything similar. Queen Hippolyta is all that I will accept."

She gave her mother a look, and her mother gave her one of her own. Once again, her son didn't notice, "Oh...oh! Okay! It's cool, I understand, gotta keep up the air of professionalism. We just met after all, it would be improper to call you that around your subjects." He gave them both a thumbs up.

Her mother stared at her son for a few seconds, before turning to her, "So, am I right in assuming that you coming here isn't merely because you missed your home?" Her voice dry and her eyes narrowed.

Diana remained unmoved however, "Partly. The main reason why I came here was to get a few items commissioned for Lucas. I have decided to take him on as my apprentice." It was then that her mother blinked before she looked at her son once more.

Her mother sighed, "I will see what I can do, but I need to speak to you. In _private_." She stressed while looking at Lucas. Who picked up on it and gave a quick nod of his head.

He looked towards her, questioning if he should follow her orders or not, "Just wait outside, Lucas. It'll only be a few minutes." She shooed him towards the exit, before adding, "And don't get in trouble!"

Her son opened the door and shouted, "Of course not! You don't gotta tell me twice!"

With him gone, Diana turned towards her mother. Her arms crossed. For the first time since being alive, Diana had actually felt _disappointment _towards her mother. She had always looked up to her and strived to uphold the standards that she had set, but now? All she felt was an overwhelming sense of disappointment. She had initially believed that her mother would come to accept Lucas with open arms, just like she had.

Evidently, she was wrong.

"So, what is it that we need to discuss _mother_…"

* * *

I walked outside and basked in the morning sun. It was somehow infinitely better and rejuvenating here than it was back in the States. Possibly because Apollo had more influence over here. After all, the Gods were powered by belief and prayers and considering it was 2010, the Greek gods were sure as hell weren't getting any on the main side.

"This really is a nice island," I whispered. From here, I could see a majority of the city that the Amazons made and improved upon over the centuries. The structures themselves seemed to be made from marble and the women walked around in old fashioned togas, or whatever the fuck they were called.

From the corner of my eye I glanced at the two guards that stood on both sides of the entrance, each dressed in standard Greek armor. Even if their faces were covered by the helmets they wore I could easily tell that both of them were beautiful. Granted they were blessed by the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Artemis if I'm not mistaken, so they were bound to look as such.

They stood with the utmost discipline, completely ignoring my presence and only focusing on staring ahead. I couldn't help the smile that bloomed on my face.

"So," I walked forward a bit and turned around so that I could give them my undivided attention, "What's it like? Being an immortal female warrior stuck on a secluded island, I mean. Like, what do Amazons do everyday? How do you all not go insane from being stuck here?"

I had always wondered. It was like being stranded on an island, but with only members of the same gender. No technology, minus the Zeta Tube, no internet, nothing that belonged to the modern era. I had always found it fascinating that they didn't at least try to pouch some things from the rest of the world. Eh. They probably didn't cause they viewed such things beneath them.

Though back to my series of questions. I was only met with silent glares. I shrugged, pretending to not notice, "Surely you can talk on guard duty. I promise I don't bite." I flashed them a wide smile.

Only to be met with glares once more. I sighed, "Are you not talking to me because I'm a guy or because you two don't have any personality. Cause if it's the latter then I suppose I _could _help you with that, but if it's the former then you're on your own."

Glares.

"Come on!" I threw my hands up in the air, "I'm trying my best to start a reasonable dialogue here. Besides, what happened to hospitality?!"

"You do not deserve such luxuries, _male_," The guard on my left said, her voice cold and shimmering with hatred, "You are only alive because of your relation to the princess."

It was supposed to be a threat, something to shut me up, but considering who I was, I just widened my smile, "Hmm. I knew you lot would be hateful towards me, but me being the apprentice of your princess doesn't give me any brownie points? Gotta give it to your dedication."

I shrugged, my facade completely indifferent, even as I could see the telltale signs of them losing their patience, "_Buuut_, I've always been known to be hardheaded, comes with the territory, so I'll just continue to bug you till either: A, She and the Queen finish their little pow wow, or B, you start to talk to me. Whichever comes first. "

The one to my right growled, her hand inching towards her sheathed blade. _Now, _things were starting to get interesting. If I couldn't get a damn conversation out of them, then maybe I could at least get a decent fight out of them instead. I had always been curious in regards to Amazons and the way they approach battle.

Each Amazon on the island has experience when it comes to war. And if not, I was pretty sure all them knew how to use the standard and nonstandard Greek weapons like swords, lances, axes, and shields. Add on the fact that most Amazons are like a few centuries old and you have some of the world's strongest warriors.

Granted, they could still die like any other baseline human, and a majority of them don't have the same power as Wonder Woman, considering she's a daughter of Zeus…

Wait. Was she? Due to the continuity around her origin always fluctuating, and me rarely following her comics, I could never be too sure. Most times she was birthed from clay and other times she was born of a union between the Queen of the Amazons and the King of the Gods. Ugh, I'm getting a headache just thinking about all of the outcomes of them finding out I'm her clone.

_God, Why couldn't I be sent here with a power ring or something?_ I lamented, before shaking my head. That wasn't fair to Wonder Woman, considering she decided to take me in and not kick me to the curb, metaphorically and literally. Plus, with all the shitty luck in the DC universe that seemed to float around, if I was sent here with a power ring it would probably belong to the Orange Lanterns or something equally unlucky.

Shaking my head, I decided to get back to my main mission at hand; goading these two lovely Amazons into a fight. Now, what to say?

I racked my brain for a few seconds before a truly dumb idea rammed straight into me. I couldn't see the smile on my face, but I knew how it felt when it practically stretched from ear to ear.

"Okay. Ignore my other questions, I'll shut up if you, either one it doesn't matter, answers this question," My smile never once wavered, even as the most stupidest and dangerous question one could have asked while on Themyscira left my lips, "Do all of you experience your periods at the same time? Or are they experienced one after the other?"

I heard the sound of metal scraping against metal. Still, my smile never wavered, as a matter of fact, I felt it _grow_.

God, I was such an idiot.

* * *

"_Patropa Kistes!"_ A man garbed in purple and gold robes chanted. The chant activating the small handheld amulet in his hands. The amulet came to life and froze his attackers in place. They gave out a painful wail before they were turned to stone.

Once that was done, the user took time to marvel at the magical artifact. It was the size of his hand with the image of the infamous Medusa's face carved into it. Regardless of him being a practitioner of the mystic arts, the act of turning a live human into stone in only a few short seconds fascinated him to no end.

Initially he planned to storm the beach front with summons and low level, but spammable spells. However, thanks to the boon that his lord had blessed him with, the amulet in case you're wondering, it might as well be a cake walk.

The man stepped passed the now stone guards, the wood of their makeshift port cracking and splintering from the unexpected added weight. It was of no consequence to him however, he had a mission to complete and a reward to collect.

He supposed that he could have done this faster if he had ran or simple used an invisibility spell, but he rather enjoyed testing this amulet. He then heard the sounds of twigs snapping and feet pelting the ground.

It seemed reinforcements have arrived. As a small task force of Amazons came rushing in, arriving on horseback and armed to the teeth with bows, swords, and lances, the man could only allow a smile to grace his lips.

They shouted some insignificant battlecry as the archers released a hailstorm of arrows. It was of no consequence however, and as the eyes of both the man and amulet glowed with power the man allowed said power to spring forward.

For the man known as Felix Faust would not be denied his prize.

* * *

They gave out a battlecry that was both insignificant and annoying, but other than that I had no complaints. Though considering they felt the need to shout from the bottom of their lungs, I had to end this quick before I got in _real _trouble.

The two guards charged forth, their swords held close and not above their heads like an idiot. Something I was extremely grateful for, it meant that they didn't just rely on their strength. It meant that they relied on their past experiences and strategies as well. I smirked as they both began to circle around, deciding that attacking me from both sides was the smartest choice.

When they came in for their respective strikes I jumped up in the air. Both warriors stopping their attacks, but in fear of possible killing their fellow sister both warriors paused for a brief second. A second that I used to land my feet on their helmets, I gave a slight push downward and used that to propel myself a few feet away.

"Attacking an unarmed and defenseless person?" I taunted in a fake distraught voice, "Oh my! What would the Queen think? Such an underhanded tactic is only fit for males, you know." I goaded with a slight teasing tone entering my voice. Hell, I even wagged a finger in fake disappointment.

Not sure what made them madder, me wagging my finger or comparing them to males, "Silence, you insignificant worm!" The one on my right growled, she took a menacing step forward. Possibly waiting for an opening.

"Oh ho! She finally speaks!" I cheered with childish glee, "Now, if only you did that sooner we wouldn't be in this mess. Granted, I prefer this over talking any day, but I do appreciate a good conversation." I looked at them with a smug smile, just to piss em off even more.

Which it did, because the one on the right growled and charged.

"Aleto!" The other one said. Clearly surprised that she opted to charge instead of waiting for an opening. I should've been surprised, but I was too busy feeling the ever growing excitement to care.

She came rushing in fast and with perfect accuracy, started to swing, slash, and thrust at various areas that would prove fatal if she struck. So, I decided to let her vent her aggression and decided to just dodge and duck out of the way of her attacks.

It went on for a few seconds before she overreached with a thrust aimed for my heart. I easily sidestepped the fatal attack and grabbed her wrist and the bottom of her chest plate. I didn't even give her time to shout in outrage before I tossed her into a nearby tree.

The tree splintered and broke under the force and I cringed a little, "Okay, if she makes it out alright that wasn't my fault. She overreached! She was practically _begging _to be thrown!"

The other guard, instead of being angry or vengeful, just sighed, "Aleto has always been too impulsive. Charging at the smallest slight against her or her sisters, an admirable but deadly quality." With her peace said she lowered herself into a stance. Her sword held at eye level, posed to strike him at any moment.

"Oh! Now the second one speaks! And considering you haven't charged me or insulted me, I'm guessing you're the most experienced of the two?"

I glanced down and noticed the sword that Aleto had dropped when I threw her. Not taking my eyes of the guard again, I kicked the sword up with my foot and grabbed it with my right hand, "I don't suppose you'd grace me with your name?"

She didn't say anything, but her eyes narrowed. I guess that was a no, but that was fine. I wanted a fight and by the looks of her, I'd be getting a good one. I lowered into a stance as well, and we both began to walk in a circle. A typical standoff.

Neither of us said a word as we gauged the other. In felt like an eternity had passed. Not a sound was made, other than the guard's armor and our footsteps. Eventually we stopped, I was facing the door and she was facing the steps behind me. In that moment, I swear, my heart had never felt that excited. All sound stopped. For just a moment, there was pure silence.

It was beautiful, but it wasn't meant to last. As the sound of a twig snapping, possibly because of Aleto or a squirrel or something, everything came to life once more and we were charging at each other.

There was a loud clang as our swords met. Both of covering the small distance between us in an instance. The guard lead with a vicious onslaught of strikes and slashes. All of which I blocked or maneuvered away from.

She aimed a strike at my legs, but I jumped up and used my sword for a heavy down attack, only for her to quickly bring her sword up and block it with ease. She used my surprise as an opening to grab my wrist, and with the power befitting an Amazon, used her hips to throw me into a marble pillar.

The pillar cracked, but it held strong, though it hurt like a bitch. She didn't give me time to rest as she leapt for me, sword poses to run me through. I had to get rid of that sword. I was a clone of Wonder Woman, but at the end of the day that meant practically nothing against a woman who was on par with her.

Thinking quick, I dropped to the ground just as her sword was about to impale me. I heard the sound of the blade impaling and getting stuck in the pillar. With that opening made, I shot up with an uppercut that sent her into the air and into the adjacent pillar. It cracked, but the impact did nothing to stop the Amazon as she fell down, did a combat roll and rushed at once again. This time her fists were held up.

Old fisticuffs then.

I launched myself towards her, sending a punch right for her face, only for her to duck under it and get in close. She aimed for an uppercut, possibly to return the favor of what I gave her, but I leaned back and watched as the fist sailed harmlessly a few inches from my face. Yet she didn't stop there, she turned that failed uppercut into a downward elbow strike aimed right at my collarbone.

I caught her elbow, just barely, with my left hand and used my right to punch her in the throat. It had the desired effect as she instinctively went to hold her throat. I then grabbed the top of her helmet and forced her closer so I could kick her in the chest. My kick landed, though it lacked the initial strength I put into it as she managed to block it at the last minute.

Instead of sending her flying, it sent her skidding back. Without her helmet as well, considering I was holding on to the top allowing it to slide right off of her. Now that the helmet was off, I was afforded a chance to take a good look at her. And let me tell you, she didn't disappoint.

Long red hair tied into a high ponytail, (how the hell did that even stay hidden), with two long bangs framing her beautiful face. Her skin was tanned, almost olive really, and her eyes were the fiercest green I had every laid my eyes upon. While she was beautiful, her looks managed to remind me of someone and coupled with the glare she was giving me it made me realize that that someone was my mother. It was kinda expected given who this was.

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall.

An Amazon _known_ for being just as strong and skilled as Wonder Woman.

In that moment, at that realization, I felt my face break into a full on grin and I managed to let out a small laugh before I stopped myself. An action that didn't go unnoticed by Artemis.

"What is so funny?" She raised an eyebrow, not lowering her guard, in fact me laughing seemed to piss her off even more, "You have a death wish of such magnitude you would not only mock an Amazon but also not take one seriously during combat?!"

"No!" I said, my excitement starting to take me over as a gave Artemis my undivided attention. As far as I was concerned she was the only thing in the world, "You're the second person to make me feel like this! This _thrill_ of fighting a strong opponent! I'm practically bursting at the seams! Come on, show me what you got!" My voice dipped into the maniacal glee territory, something that shocked and worried me _butthatdidn'tmattercauseIhadastrongenemyinfrontmeagloriousbattleawaitedlifeordeathwhoknows?!_

She held a look of recognition for a moment before it slipped into a mask of indifference, "Then come, come so that you may know defeat."

I didn't need to be told more as I charged her, fully intent on winning. I was too reckless. She anticipated my move and knees me right in the chin. Once again I had to be glad I wasn't human, because that would've killed anybody that wasn't a superhuman.

She then dropped down and did a sweeping kick that sent me to the ground. The Amazon then mounted me and started to rain down blows. However, I tilted my head to dodge each of her blows. I then reach with my legs and wrapped my ankles around her neck. Using her weight and gravity I slammed her head into the ground and put her into a choke.

Artemis tried to reach me but it was for naught as I continued to squeeze. Seeing that that wouldn't work she raised an elbow and struck at my inner thigh. She dug her elbow into the meaty portion of my thigh and kept digging until I let go.

When I let go she quickly rose and aimed a kick for my head. It was just a few inches from reaching when we both heard a voice. A powerful and demanding one. A _familiar _powerful and demanding voice.

"_Enough!_" The Queen of the Amazons spoke. Even though her voice wasn't raised in the slightest, it still carried the same weight and authority.

Both of us stopped, with Artemis turning around and facing the Queen. She even gave her a salute. While I remained on the ground with only my elbow to prop me up, giving me full view of the angry expressions that rested on my mother's and the Queen's face.

"Artemis!" Hippolyta demanded as she and Wonder Woman walked forward, "What is the meaning of this? And where is Aleto?"

"...ugh.." Cue Aleto groaning from the bushes.

Artemis looked at the downed Amazon for a brief moment before turning to the Queen, "My Queen, it was because of this male's insistence on provoking us into a fight! We tried to ignore him at first, but he kept pushing and prodding until we were forced to engage!"

From where I laid, I looked at the Amazon in disbelief. I shot up to my feet, aiming to tell my side, "Okay, one; I didn't prod them into to fight! I was trying to hold a conversation with them, you know, get to know the Wonder Woman's people and culture, but they kept ignoring me! And two; you were _actively _ignoring me?! The hell, woman?!"

"Of course we were ignoring you, you dolt!" Artemis snapped back, "We were on guard duty! Protecting the queen, princess, and that contraption that brought the both of you here! As Amazons we must remain vigilant! We don't have time to cater to the whims of a male child!"

"Whims of a…" I sounded dumbfounded, but I didn't care, "I'm not a _child! _Me kicking your ass should've made that obvious!" I retorted, crossing my arms and glaring at her.

The Amazon smirked, as if knowing something I didn't, "Hmph, is that what you truly think? This is but the standard gear and uniform for the Royal Guard and let's not forget that you're the princess' apprentice, it wouldn't be right of me to outright _maim_ you."

I stared at her, "You're saying you were going easy aren't you?"

"Precisely."

I looked at her for a few seconds. My eyes narrowing in anger at the slight. I stepped towards her, but was met with a swift hit to the back of the head. "Ow!" I shouted and turned around to look at the offender, only to be met with my _very _pissed mother.

"Lucas Prince," Ooh, full name, that's not good, "What did I say before we came to Themyscira? What was it, _word for word_, that I said that you _shouldn't _do?" Her voice was that sickly sweet one. The one where you knew you fucked up and was about to get fucked up in turn.

"'The Amazons are very prickly when it comes to males. If you do or say something incredibly stupid or insensitive, you being my son won't save you.'" I recited, just like she asked, "But in my defense…"

I flinched at the glare she gave me, "Oh _please_. State your _valid _reason as to why you felt the need to start a fight with your sisters. I'm sure we're all _dying _to hear it."

Artemis blinked, "Your sisters…?" That was when she _really _started to look at me. No doubt beginning to notice the multiple similarities between Wonder Woman and I. But while the gears were turning in her head I just stared at the ground, trying to not met my mother's eyes.

When it was clear that I didn't have a reason, because saying 'I felt like it', would've landed me in more trouble, her eyes softened just a tad, "I guess it can't be helped. I brought you here to train, you were bound to fight Artemis sooner or later, might as well get it over with."

I looked up at her, my eyes filled with hope, "_But_ I'm still disappointed in you, Lucas. You need to show more restraint."

I nodded. It was then that Artemis chose to speak, "You didn't tell me that you had a child, Diana. While I admit I would've preferred it be a female, I suppose that congratulations are in order." She smirked as she placed a hand on her hip, "So, who's the father? Is it that Batman? I have a betting pool to run, you know."

I looked at Diana, my mouth agape, was that? Was that a _blush_?!

"N-no!" She denied, "And I _told _you to get rid of that! My love life isn't something that should be used for monetary gain!" Artemis laughed. Hippolyta laughed. And I was just shocked.

Hippolyta was the first to stop, though she still chuckled a bit, "How about we get these two situated and _then _we can tease our darling little princess. Artemis, can you tell the cooks to prepare a feast for my daughter?"

"Of course, My lady." She gave a bow and walked away, but not before giving me a lingering look.

Weird.

I shook my head and looked at my mother, "So are we just here so I can train or is there something else? Because if you just wanted to train, we could've done that back at the States."

My mother looked towards Hippolyta, their eyes having a silent conversation. Ultimately, the Queen of the Amazons relented with a heavy sigh, "Yes, you may take him to see the Seamstresses and Io, but make sure he stays out of trouble, Diana. Him causing trouble is the last thing we need. Peace is so rarely kept when men appear."

My mother's eyes narrowed for a moment before she took flight, "Come on, Lucas. I'll introduce you to an old friend of mine. We will see you at the feast, Mother." Her tone clipped and measured. As if she barely containing her emotions.

Strange.

I looked at Hippolyta before I took off and all I saw was regret.

* * *

**A/N: Wondered what happened between Diana and Hippolyta. Who knows? But anyway we have our villain for this arc, and before anyone asks, he's on the other side of the island, cause it would be pretty dumb to give a full frontal assault on an island full of warhardened, male hating, female warriors. **

**Anyway how was that fight with Artemis? Let me know! Also Hippolyta looks like her 2009 counterpart and Artemis looks like her Rebirth counterpart. Just throwing that out there. **


	5. Chapter 5

_**Combatant **_

* * *

"That went better than I thought it would," We were leaving one of the Seamstresses shops, one of the workers there waving at us, "I mean, they didn't outright ignore me like I had initially thought they would. Hell, they even listened to my design request. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised you let me pick what I wanna wear."

We were currently walking along rows of various shops and other buildings. The shops themselves were run by various Amazons, as you can imagine, and they sold basic necessities. Such as food, lumber, refined stone or metal, weapons, armor, clothing, and other stuff.

"Of course, I'm not some fashion tyrant," Diana rolled her eyes, amusement filling her voice, "Though, I wish you would've chose something a bit more colorful. You're just like Donna in that regard. She always wore black and silver, said that was what she was most comfortable with."

I raised an eyebrow, "Well not all of us can rock a star spangled bathing suit mom. Besides, I feel like that's more _you_, you know? I've only been alive for a few months and I can't stand bright colors for some reason. Feels like I'm painting a giant ass target on me."

Accustomed to my cursing, she didn't even bother to reprimand me, though she did roll her eyes again, "As long as you like it I have no problems. Anyway, Penelope said it should be done by tomorrow, so until then try not tear your clothes anymore than you already have." She advised.

Yeah, that fight wasn't my brightest moment. No need to keep reminding me mom, "Okay. So where to now? You're the one with the plan for today."

"We're going to go see Io, she's probably the best smith on the island. She can make pretty much anything, so long as she has the material and time to do so. We'll see if she'll be able to make you your own set of bracers and see if she has a pair she'll be able to loan to you."

"Not that I'm complaining," I started, "But what's the point of making me a pair of my own? Why don't we just buy a pair from her? Also if you need me to borrow a set, why not use Donna's? Or your old pairs? Wait. Do you even have any old pairs?"

"Glad you asked," She waved at a pair of Amazons walking by, probably old friends, "You're getting your own pair, because you'd complain otherwise—"

"I would _not_."

"—And while I don't lack faith in her craftsmanship, I'd prefer you get something personal tailored to you, something that can be _truly_ yours. It also not being weathered by time is always a plus too and Donna kept her pair, just in case she ever decides to return to being a hero. And no, I don't have any old pairs. I've always used these, as a matter of fact, they originally belonged to my mother." She answered, before adding, "So I really don't see your problem with hand me downs."

I shrugged, "I like to have things of my own, and what do you mean by Donna returning to being a hero? Nothing bad happened, right?" I asked, while I haven't had the chance to meet her yet, I still hoped she lived a somewhat happy life.

"Thankfully," She nodded, "Donna just wished to focus more on her academics. Last I checked, she was aiming to be a lawyer. She's currently going to a law school in Minnesota. I could take you to meet her if you like." She offered, though I could tell she wanted to see her as well.

"Yeah, that'd be cool," I said, "Hey, since she was you're first apprentice, does that make her my big sister? Or is that a little weird?" I asked, just so I'd have full permission to fuck with her the first chance I got.

Though I'd probably end up doing that anyway, "Eh. In a sense. After all, all Amazons are your sisters just as you're a brother to all of them. Even if most don't see you as such."

"Yeah," I trailed off, pretending to not notice the few glares I was getting, "So, what's the first thing you'll be training me on? Is it swordsmanship? Oh! Or is it gonna be on throwing a shield like a frisbee and having it bounce back to me?! Or is it gonna be a Morningstar?! Please say a Morningstar! Let me tell you, those things are fucking awesome!"

"I somehow find your fondness of weapons both disturbing and endearing," She said, however she laughed, clearly not at all bothered, "And I'm afraid it's none of those things. The first thing I'm going to teach you is how to use your bracers. So you can deflect bullets, arrows, and whatever other types of projectiles are shot at you. I'll be covering everything else over the course of the next few days."

"So, what I'm hearing is a _maybe _on the Morningstar?"

Diana rolled her eyes, fondly saying, "Maybe. But only if you ace everything else and are a good boy." She ruffles my hair, a clear sign of affection, "That means no picking fights with your sisters. Even if you're bored."

"Speaking of that," I said, my mind turning to the fiery haired Amazon, "When can I fight Artemis again? Preferably when she has all her normal gear." Cause her saying she went easy on me left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Granted I didn't lose _per se_ as the fight was interrupted before a clear victory could be decided. Though deep down I knew that since I was the one on the ground when we were interrupted I was the one to technically lose. Just thinking about it had me itching for a rematch.

Diana looked at me and noticed the fire in my eyes, "Huh, you want to fight her that badly? She _is _a good fighter, one of the best on the island in fact, but surely she has more pressing matters that require her attention." Noticing my downtrodden face she hastily said, "However, I'll be sure to get with her and find a way to fit it into our schedule. Artemis has always loved a good fight, so it shouldn't take too much convincing, though be sure not to bore her. She'll hate that you wasted her time."

"_Please_," I said, a cocky smirk on my face, "As if _anyone _could be bored of _all this_," I gestured up and down at my whole body, "I'm practically perfection personified!" I flexed my biceps to prove my point, earning a light hearted laugh from my mother.

"Careful," She said in between her laugh, "You're pride's showing a bit. Don't want you to gain an overinflated ego, Luc." She playfully shoved me with a smile on her face, "After all as an Amazon, you must remain humble."

"Eh. As long as I don't go overboard I'm allowed a little boasting aren't I?" I shrugged nonchalantly, "Besides, I'm _your _son, so I must get it from you. Don't worry though, your secret is safe with me!" I gave her a cheesy thumbs-up.

"Hmm. Seems like I have something else to fix during our stay here," She flashed me a dangerous smile, it made me shudder, "But for now it looks like we're here. Now, be nice to her, she isn't the most social person so it might take some time for her to warm up to you."

As if on cue, a rather tall woman walked out of the shop. She wore a large apron with nothing, and I mean _nothing, _underneath that had two large pockets in the front for holding tools. For pants, she wore baggy trousers and the standard heavy duty boots for a blacksmith.

She was more on the muscular side, with short brown hair and hazel colored eyes. She wiped her forehead with her forearm, obviously getting rid of the sweat that had accumulated during her time at the forge.

She let out a huff. It took her a few seconds for her to notice us, but when she did, _man oh man was it gold_, "Princess Diana!" Io's face practically lit up upon looking at Diana.

I was practically ignored, as the blacksmith walked up to her with a bright smile and a light blush on her face, "So good to see you once again! How long will you be staying? For a good long while, I hope?" She sounded so energetic and thrilled to see my mother that I had to stop myself from laughing at the sight.

My mother smiled, "It's good to see you again too, Io! Unfortunately, my visit is a rather short one, just three days then it's back to man's world." Io, deflated a bit, but hid it well enough, "But while I am here, I must ask of a small favor. If you would be so kind and willing."

Io brightened up once more, "Of course! Anything for you, Princess! How may I be of service?"

It was then that my mother wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close, "Well, first things first, this is my son, Lucas. Just call him Luc for short, and I was wondering and _hoping_ that you would be able to make a set of bracers for him, and possibly loan him a pair for training as well."

She looked shocked, probably because she hadn't noticed me until now, and a little heartbroken, before her eyes began to hold a certain gleam in them, "Oh! Yes! Come in! I'll take his measurements and see if I have an extra set lying around somewhere. Will you be needing anything else made, Princess, or is that all that you require?"

Io hurriedly walked, though it was more like a jog than anything else, back into her shop, the gleam in her eyes never fading. Diana and I watched her go for a few seconds before I slowly turned my head towards her, my face sporting a grin of the shit-eating type.

My mother noticed it and pressed her lips into a thin line, "Not. A. Word." She stressed each word. It only made my grin grow, but as much as I wanted to tease her. Now wasn't the time nor was it the place.

So with all the self restraint I had, I brought up my hand to my face and made a zipping motion on my lips. She caught the message and nodded, apparently pleased. She then followed Io inside, with me not that far behind her.

The interior of the shop was a complete mess if I was being honest. Various metals and other projects were strewn about, with Io's best and most successful ones on display on the wall to my right. Towards the back of the shop, was an anvil and to the right of it, some sort of furnace and on the adjacent wall was a small square window.

Io walked up to me with some string, aiming to take the measurements of my forearms. "I need you to be completely still, Lucas. The measurements have to be exact otherwise your bracers will come out either too large or too small." She finished, both her sentence and taking my measurements.

She brought out a knife from one of her pockets and cut the excess string off, "It shouldn't take me long to have these made and tailored. I'll have these finished by tomorrow morning, tomorrow evening at the latest." She said excitedly, poor woman had it _bad_.

Anyway, Diana just nodded with a smile on her face, "Many thanks, Io. Would you also happen to have a spare perchance? Preferably one that you wouldn't mind being used for training?"

The blacksmith practically beamed as she dragged me to the other side of her shop, "Yes! There should be some over here." She stopped in front of a chest and began to search through. The sound of metal clanging against metal was heard until she pulled out two of the desired objects.

Io quickly slid them on my arms. The first thing I noticed about them was that they weren't completely metal like Diana's were, but rather there were leather straps on the inner part of my forearm with the metal on the outer portion.

The bracers themselves were mainly silver in color with a thin outline of gold tracing their edges, "So! What do you think Lucas? Doesn't it fit like a glove?!" She's pretty excitable isn't she? It was then that I noticed her eyes flickered to Diana for a brief moment.

Heh.

"Yeah," I agreed and moved my arms around a bit, just to get a feel for them, "Really light, it doesn't hinder any of my movements as far as I can tell. So, if I'm remembering correctly, these things can reflect _anything_, right? Like fucking lasers and shit?"

"And everything else in between," Diana replied smoothly, "Now, come on I'm gonna teach you how to use those things. Don't want you to just flail your arms around hoping to block something." She teased.

"Thanks again, Io! Hope to see you at the feast!" She said, walking out of the shop and onto the street. She got an excited reply and a light blush on the other Amazon's face, though she didn't notice.

I gave a wave back as well, though with a shit eating grin on my face. Diana glared at me from the corner of her eyes, "That. That right there is why you're going to hate learning how to use those." She pointed at my bracers with a dark look on her face.

Though I just waved it off, it couldn't have been that hard. I'd seen her do it plenty enough times. "Psssh, I got this in the bag, mom. Just try not to make it too easy for me."

* * *

Okay, I'll admit, this shit is _not _easy.

I heard the sound of an arrow sailing through the air and I instinctively turned in the direction, my arms up and ready to block, yet, "Fuck!" I grunted as an arrow hit my elbow. Fortunately, it was only a graze but it still hurt like a motherfucker, "Is this because of earlier? Wait. Why am I even asking that? _Of course it is_!"

How about a little of context, yeah? We're currently in a gladiator type arena, with spectator stands, gates, the works. However it was just Diana and I, plus a few Amazons that were either bored and wanted to see what the princess was up to or they wanted to check me out. No doubt due to the numerous rumors spreading about me since we've first arrived.

They were probably checking me out, not that I'd blame them…_?!_

An arrow flew passed my head and embedded itself in the ground. I quickly looked at the arrow, then at my mother, who had the audacity to wave with a cheerful smile, then back at the arrow, then back at my mother.

"_The _fuck?!" I shouted, to the increased delight of my mother, "You could _see _I wasn't paying attention! That could've impaled me, mom! What the _fuck_?!"

"Pride's one of the top sins, you know!" She called from a few meters away, "Such a thing will be your undoing if you can't correct yourself!" She then drew another arrow from her quiver and fired it without a second thought.

I rolled out of the way and into a knee, "How the hell did you know what I was thinking, and how many times are you going to keep doing that when _I'm not ready_?!" I pointed at her accusingly. I was pretty sure she was just being petty at this point, but I held my tongue.

"A warrior must always be ready, Lucas. Whether the attack comes from below, above, left, right, up close or from a distant. You must remain vigilant at all times."

"Okay, Batman!" I snarked from across the arena, "But that doesn't explain how the hell you knew what I was thinking about!" I shouted, even as she drew another arrow.

She notched the arrow back and cheerful responded, "I'm your mother, my dear Luc, it's my job to know what you're thinking! Now less talking and more blocking!"

She let the arrow loose and I was forced to throw my arms up. Once again I failed to properly block it and luckily it was just another graze. I hissed at the wound for a brief second and then stomped my foot in frustration, "What the fuck! This shouldn't be that fucking hard! I'm your clone for fuck's sake! If you can do it, I should be able to too!"

Instead of cracking a joke or even speaking some wisdom about my pride, Diana just flew over to where I stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. It's alright." She said comfortingly, and it helped calm me down a little, "We all got something we're not good at, just because you're my clone doesn't mean you should feel like you need to emulate to the point of us practically being indistinguishable when it comes to skill and combat prowess."

"But," I tried to explain, before I sighed, "You. You wouldn't understand." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince my mother or myself, possibly, both, I wasn't even sure why I felt this way, maybe because deep down I needed to prove that I wasn't wasted space. Or rather a waste of her time.

The Amazon hummed, "You are correct. I can't understand what you're going through, no one but yourself can. Ultimately as individuals we each have our own beliefs, experiences, fears, and dreams. And as much as it pains me to say this; I'll probably never understand what's currently ailing you. But I can _try_. I can _try _to understand, but only if you _allow _me too."

"It's just...have you ever felt like you don't belong?" I said, my voice soft, "That everyone and everything around you is larger than life itself? That you _know_ everyone around you is like that? I'm not sure if you're aware, but when Cadmus tried to program me they showed me _everything_. From the creation of the Justice Society to the All-Star Squadron and to the Justice League, but out of all of that and more what they mostly showed me was _you_."

Diana nodded, "I would imagine so since you were made specifically to rival me in every way possible."

"That!" I pointed at her, "That right there is what's wrong with me. I'm supposed to be your clone, your rival, but my swordsmanship sucks, my blocking sucks, hell my _flying _sucks," My face scrunched up, I hated admitting that I sucked at stuff, "I just…"

"You want to prove yourself to me. To prove that you are worth the effort of me taking you under my wing? That you deserve to be my apprentice?"

I looked at her, completely shocked. She noticed and rolled her eyes, "Don't look at me like that, Luc. I was like that too. Back when I was training to take up the Wonder Woman title, I had such thoughts as well. '_My mother can do this easily, so why can't I?' 'My sisters can do this without even breaking a sweat, so why am I having trouble with it?' 'Will Mother give the title to someone else if I fail to meet her expectations?'"_

She then asked, "Do you know how I managed to earn the title of Wonder Woman?" I shook my head, "I stopped worrying about being perfect. I stopped worrying about being exactly like my mother. I oftentimes had to remind myself that I would be better in time, with enough training and willpower. Just because you are having trouble _now_, doesn't mean you won't get better later on."

"But I need to be stronger _now_," I stressed, my paranoia of being stuck in this universe finally spilling through,"There are things out there, _people_ out there, that could fight the Justice League with ease! People that could rival…" I bit my cheek to stop myself from speaking any further, I don't know why I did that, I trusted Wonder Woman with my life. So there was really no reason to keep such information from her. So why did I…

What was I gonna say again? It...it got away from me. I don't remember, wasn't I gonna tell her about how I hated being weak? Yeah, that's probably what it was.

"I just hate being weak," I finished as if I hadn't forgotten what I was going to tell her, she just gave me a questioning look but other than that didn't say anything, "I just hate being weak." I repeated, this time much softer.

"We all start off weak, Lucas," Diana tried to comfort me, and it did make me feel a little better, "That's why we train to get stronger so that when the time comes we can answer the call that others are unable to. So that we're able to stand against those that wish to rule over those unable to defend themselves."

"Answer the call," I raised an eyebrow, "That's an...interesting way to put it. But how do I know when it's my turn to answer the _call_." I was sarcastic when I said 'call' but my question was still genuine.

Diana rolled her eyes, but gave a mysterious smile. You know? The ones only moms can give, "I don't. But just know that it _will _happen, because we all have to do it sooner or later." I blinked at that particular phrase, why did it sound familiar?

I didn't have time to think on it as she started to give me pointers on how to use the bracers, "The trick with reflecting is anticipating where the projectile will be going. Read the trajectory of the attack, stance of the attacker, and try to visualize where the shooter is aiming. Get in their head, think '_If I was shooting me, where would I aim?'_ and go from there."

"Okay...that actually helps very little," I frowned, "Are you just making this up so you can say you did help before you start shooting me again or is that actual advice?"

"Eh, a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B," She shamelessly admitted, brushing off the accusation as nothing more than whining, "So! Chop Chop! Back to pelting you with—I mean teaching you how to block."

I know for a fact that slip up was on purpose.

But it wasn't meant to be as the ground started to shake. Rather violently I might add. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but I quickly dismissed that when Diana snapped her head towards the left, towards the forest.

"That's not good," She whispered before taking flight, "Good news, Lucas! Seems like you might have to answer the call sooner rather than later! Follow me!" She took off towards the forest with me not far behind her.

* * *

He quickly grew bored of these games. At first it was rather enjoyable seeing the many Amazons turn to stone, but the deeper he went into the forest the stronger the women seemed to get.

It was a double edged sword really. On one hand it meant that he was getting closer towards his goal, on the other he had to deal with more nuisances in the form of women.

They were charging on horseback with archers attacking his flank. That was fine. At the beginning of his attack such tactics would have made him panic, but now that he was in the forest, he could use the surroundings to his advantage.

The charging Amazons were quickly met with various types of beast men. Each armed with razor sharp claws, monstrous strength, and battle honed instincts. Beastiamorphs is what his patron called them. Said that they were once men, men that were unfortunate enough to cross paths with said patron.

It was a miracle that the same hadn't befell him. Instead his patron had offered to teach the ways of ancient magic. Magic from when the gods were more active in the world and not forced to this tiny island. Granted most spells he learned were complex, but they were better than what he was learning previously.

Screams of anguish filled his ears and the were like music. A beautiful symphony that spoke of his current quest. A quest that was simple and easier said than done. You see, his patron was trapped in Tartarus, apparently by the hero Wonder Woman, a few months ago.

So in exchange for his help, he would be given ultimate knowledge, of both the mundane and the mystical. Theoretically, with that amount of knowledge, he would be able to match the Lords of Chaos and Order. A thought that had him mentally salivating.

He was cut from his musings by the sound of a war horn being blown, he growled in aggravation, "I was being nice at first. Now, I guess I'll just turn this whole bloody island into statues!" He shouted in annoyance as more and more Amazons flooded out of nowhere.

He willed the amulet to appear in his hand. It appeared in a swirl of blue magic. The face of Medusa came to life as he spoke the required invocation and any who dared to cast a look was quickly turned to stoned. The warriors, the beasts, and even the horses weren't safe from its curse.

All of them gave shouts of pain and dread before the petrification was complete. Contrary to popular belief, Medusa's curse wasn't instantaneous, it was in fact a gradual process that took about three seconds to be completed.

With that taken care of he walked by the Amazon statues, their faces now frozen in fear forever. A sadistic smile worked its way on his face, "Nuisances aside, I do believe my patron expressed interest in your Queen. You can't hear me, of course, but I would like to thank you for bringing me an added boon. After all with what you have here your Queen will no doubt come to investigate."

He looked around, basking in the sight of seeing so many statues, "My patron will be most pleased, no doubt. Another boon I must thank you for, but enough of my rambling," He snapped his fingers and more beastiamorphs appeared in a swirl of pink and purple.

Each were on their knees, awaiting his orders, which he was most thrilled to give, "Find the Queen of the Amazons! Kill anyone that dares to get in your way!"

The beasts howled to the sky before sprinting towards the city of the Amazons.

Faust allowed himself to smirk in satisfaction. The hunt for the Queen has begun.

* * *

"Diana!"

A shout from below had both my mother and I pause in our flight. We both looked down in surprise to see that it was Hippolyta, dressed in armor befitting a warrior with a sword on her hip and a shield on her arm.

Next to her was a red headed female, one her face rested a red faceplate that covered her forehead, temples, and cheeks. On her chest was, well, it was like Wonder Woman's except without it being colorful and having an eagle on it, plus it actually had shoulder straps. On her legs were thigh high red boots with a singular white stripe that went from her toes to her thighs. To finish the look she had a large, and I mean _large_, battle axe on her shoulder.

"Ahh, I see you've brought the brat as well," Artemis said as we landed in front of both her and the Queen, "I hope he isn't our only source of reinforcements, I find that his combat skills are rather lacking."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm game for another fight whenever you are."

"I do believe I won our last bout, as such I feel there is no need for me to go another round," Artemis' smile looked both smug and punchable, "Your motivation to lose is both noted and uncared for."

"_Anyway_," Wonder Woman intervened before anything drastic happened, "What is the current situation, Mother? Lucas and I felt an earthquake in the coliseum. Do we know who the attacker is?"

The Queen of the Amazons grimaced, not a good sign, "The attacker is a male garbed in purple and gold robes. From one of the Amazons on accounts, the man possesses an amulet that turns any who look at it into stone."

"So just an ordinary sorcerer?" Diana raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, "But that doesn't explain how he was able to breach through Themyscira's defenses. The island should be invisible to the outside world."

Hippolyta nodded her head, "Yes, as far as I'm aware the island is still protected and shielded by the gods. However, I have a hypothesis on who is helping the man infiltrate are island."

"Who would have the balls to do that?" I blurted out, much to the chagrin of my mother and annoyance of Artemis and Hippolyta, "I mean, the gods protect you and your island, right?"

"Oh look," Artemis drawled, an amused smirk on her face, "He's learning."

I gave her a quick glare, though it just made her smirk wider, "What I'm getting at is, who would dare try to muddle with the gods and their affairs? Someone with a crazy amount of power is what I'm guessing." After all, you wouldn't go waltzing in and making a shit show of someone's house unless you had the strength to back it up.

They each mulled that over before a sudden look of anger washed over the three of them. All of the once growled, "_Circe!_"

I blinked.

"Who?"

They didn't answer my question because as soon as it left my mouth multiple man-beast things leapt from the surrounding shrubbery. There were rhinos, tigers, lions, bulls, and...was that a motherfucking panther?!

"Huh," I blinked, my eyes not even believing what I was seeing, "Guess I get to beat the shit outta furries now."

* * *

**AN: I have no clue what took me so long with this, but here it is. First arc, and it isn't even in the YJ timeline. Hurray! (Don't know why I did that) **

**Quick question, should Lucas work with Hippolyta and Artemis during this arc, or should he lone wolf it? I can make either work, it's just that I can't decide. So let me know what y'all think, and if I don't hear from anyone I'll just, I don't know, roll a dice or something. **

**Also over the course of the week, if it says I updated but there's no new chapter, I'm just going back and fixing grammatical errors. **

**Till next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Combatant **_

* * *

"You know," I shouted as I kicked a lion furry in the face. The beast stumbling back before an arrow proceeded to embed itself in its skull, "There's a lot of things that I was expecting to happen during our three days here, but _this_? This was not one of them."

I grabbed another one, this time a rhino, and tossed it into the air. Where as soon as it hits its apex it was pelted with more arrows than I couldn't have been bothered to count, "I mean, like _really_? Who the fuck is depraved and twisted enough to make an army of furries?!"

"By the gods!" Artemis shouted as she practically slaughtered and dismembered ever beastiamorph dumb enough to get close to her, "Do you ever shut up?! Hera! And when I thought you males couldn't get anymore annoying."

I stopped what I was doing to give her a look of utter contempt before blocking a jab. _God, it's like their coming out of the woodwork._

"Oh! Like you're one to talk!" I shouted back, this time punching a tiger in the face before sending a roundhouse kick strong enough to break its neck, "You're the one hogging all of the kills! Like fuck, you greedy bastard, leave some for the rest of us!"

The redhead spared a few seconds to visible roll her eyes at me. Queen Hippolyta doing the same, but atop a rhino she had just impaled.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, the boy has a point Artemis," This time Hippolyta spoke, pulling her blade out of the dead rhino carcass, she herself was no slouch, easily cutting down and beheading all who opposed her, "You are most greedy on the battlefield today, sister."

A lion tried to attack Artemis from behind, only to be met with a swift beheading from the redhead's axe, the blood and the thud the body produced didn't even make her flinch, "Mistress is most thirsty during this time of the year. I intend to give her her fill, my Queen."

"Crazy chicks," I muttered to myself as I jabbed a panther in the throat, it gasping for breath before Hippolyta finished it off, "I'm surrounded by crazy sadistic women." I lamented much to the two Amazons annoyance.

I elbowed a lion in the face that tried to sneak up on me. Hippolyta leaped over me and stabbed the creature in its spine, pretty much splitting the bastard in half, "Huh, didn't know you could do that. Nicely, executed Queen Hippolyta! Ten out of ten, would see again!"

Quirking an eyebrow, the Queen said, "Thank you? I admit I'm not familiar with that phrase, but it sounds like you are referencing something from man's world." The Queen surveyed the area surrounding us, the field was littered with blood and disembodied limbs of the makeshift furry army.

I couldn't help, but chuckle at the sight, even if it did make me look like a lunatic, "Yes. The furry abomination as been slain, now on to behead the freak who would create and control such a monstrosity."

Artemis raised an eyebrow at me, "What are you on about now? I swear, it's like the more I'm around you the more I feel my brain cells drop in number."

"You calling me an idiot?"

"Your intelligence is amazing," Artemis rolled her eyes, her tone just as sarcastic as her smile, "Your presence is a blessing from the very gods themselves."

This had been going on since my mother decided to head forward alone. Her reasoning being that since she had the most experience when it came to fighting sorcerers and Circe she believed that she could handle the intruder quickly and effectively.

She decided that I would be _safer_, and I say that with the most sarcastic tone I can manage, if I were with Queen Hippolyta and Artemis. The two who I was beginning to think hated me with an intense passion. It didn't bother me much since I had initially expected such a reaction.

"You are the bane of my existence, Artemis," I pinched my nose, god she was being needlessly antagonistic, "I hope you know that." The redhead didn't even give me a response. She just continued to look in the direction of the temple.

Queen Hippolyta was the same as well, "Do you believe it is a trap as well, Artemis?"

"Without a doubt."

My ears twitched, "Well, yeah, it's kind of obvious. Circe is a natural trickster at heart, and add on her childish demeanor, I wouldn't be surprised if mom got turned into a pig or something." Of course, I was going off of her animated universe counterpart. Never really followed up on her when she was in the comics.

In fact, I don't think she was even a mainstream villain.

"Hmm? I thought you didn't know who Circe was." Artemis narrowed her eyes at me, "Is there something that you aren't telling us, Lucas?"

Hippolyta looked at me intrigued, "I would also like to know as well, it is my understanding that when you were created, the only thing you knew about our world was Diana, and not to forget the fact that when we stated her name you had no clue who we were talking about."

Well, all of you are from a fictional universe that I used to watch/read for my personal enjoyment. I know everything or rather close to everything there is to know about both the heroes and villains, but I can't say anything because I don't know how the fuck you all will react. Plus, given the fact that this world has telepaths I can't even tell anyone in fear of a telepath shifting through their head much less think of it in fear of it getting out.

Doubly so for the omnipresent beings out there, especially since I don't want Darkseid or….

I shivered, a stray and terrifying thought coming to the forefront of my mind, '_There's no fucking way. But he technically _could _though, right?' _No, it wouldn't make any sense! I'm a literal _nobody_ in an ocean of souls. I shouldn't even be a _blimp _on his radar.

But...according to Murphy's Law and the Multiverse theory...and if we take both and take them to their utmost extreme...then maybe..._theoretically_…

Hippolyta raised an eyebrow, whether it was out of concern or curiosity I didn't know, "You look pale, like _very _pale, is there something wrong? Did you get poisoned or anything similar?"

"N-no, no, ma'am," I lied through the skin of my teeth, trying to reign in my growing paranoia, "Just...just had a bad thought is all."

Both women looked at each other before shrugging. More than likely thinking I was concerned over the safety of my mother, which was _true_, but there were bigger problems, problems that would drive me insane with paranoia if I thought on them any longer.

"Remain calm, Lucas," Artemis advised, her ear twitching, "More enemies approach!" She twirled her battle axe, it cutting through the air fast enough to make small whistling noises. "I do hope you plan to contribute to this wave unlike the last two. It's quite tiring to hold our own weight plus a useless male's!"

"I'll show you useless, you goddamn pinup model!" I rocketed forth, not even caring that this wave was much bigger than the last. Artemis was fresh on my heels as well, unwilling to let me get all the kills.

"Children," Hippolyta lamented as she readied her sword, "I'm surrounded by children."

* * *

Diana wasn't having the best of days, she could admit that much. Granted having one's home being attacked would do that to a person, but she'd like to think that she was handling it rather well.

Her face twisted into a snarl as she kicked another bestiamorph, causing it to go flying into a nearby tree, the tree splintering and breaking apart from the weight and force. The creature was still alive however, if the sound of pitiful whimpers were any indication.

Had this happened before she left the island then the creature would have been dead for sure, but now that she was a hero she had certain standards to uphold. One of them being the no kill rule.

She no longer had the privilege of being a virgin when it came to taking a life, after all she was a warrior through and through. She had blood on her hands, no one doubted that, but with the appearance of other heroes, mainly her colleagues in the Justice League, she truly believed that there was no need for such things.

Bloodshed was truly a disgusting and hateful thing, war even more so. But with the formation of the Justice League, she believed that instead of cutting down all of her enemies, like she was initially trained to do, that they could be _reformed_. That they could be redeemed.

These creatures were no different. These were but mindless thralls that danced to the whims of Circe. Men that the goddess of magic had turned into her loyal minions just to satisfy her boredom and cruel impulses.

Just the thought of the sadistic woman brought a snarl to Diana's face. Circe was the only person in the world that had the privilege of earning her animosity. She had never outright hated anyone before, but the wicked goddess was about to run her patience thin.

Of course, the feeling was shared by both parties, so naturally Circe would do everything in her power to make her suffer. Diana would never stoop to such levels, but she feared that if anything were to happen to her son…

She shook her head. Such thoughts shouldn't be entrained, no matter how pleasant or just they might feel.

Her ears twitched, picking up a light sound of twigs and leaves being stepped upon. She quickly rose into the air, deciding to get a bird's eye view, and effectively hide at the same time. After all, it isn't in human nature to look above oneself and given that these creatures were once human it was a decent idea.

When in the air, she looked towards the direction where she had initially heard the sound. There was a squad of beastiamorphs, she counted seven, standing guard and patrolling the temple's parameter. Whoever the Faust was, was obviously inside. Otherwise such defenses would be pointless and a waste of resources.

"Just what are you after?" Diana whispered. It had escaped her at the time to ask her mother what exactly the sorcerer wanted from them, but it had to be something of either immense magical power or something connected to Tartarus. Both of which weren't good in the slightest.

Anything dealing with Tartarus wasn't a good thing, but if the man intended to just blindly open the gates then she would have no choice but to request, no _demand_, a full League response. The reasoning is simple, the shades.

Shades were, in short, damned souls cursed to an afterlife of suffering for all of eternity. Now that wouldn't cause much of a concern, but given what they can actual _do _makes them much more terrifying. They could overshadow _any _living being, could fight for basically all of eternity, cause their already _dead_, and a bunch of other equally powerful things.

But the only good side to this was that Hades controlled them, it was a given since it's his domain. So as long as Hades continues to exist, they shouldn't have to worry about the shades _too _much.

So far, it looked to her like the man wasn't a complete idiot. Otherwise he would've been another slave to Circe, but the real question is…

_Why isn't Circe here herself?_

* * *

"Okay, _now _is that the last of them?" I said in aggravation, "Cause I swear to god, if I have to see another set of animal balls I'm gonna lose my fucking mind. I'm talking scorched earth on this son of a bitch." As you can tell if you hadn't already noticed, I hated furries with a _passion_. Like what was even the _fucking _point of coming up with a such a sick and twisted…?!

I stopped the beginnings of my rant when I heard the sound of metal bending and straining, then came the sound of bones breaking and liquid splattering. Blinking, I looked down and noticed that I had pushed my foot _through_ the body of a now dead bestiamorph. It was a panther in case you were wondering.

"Goddammit," I frowned and pulled my foot out of the dead carcass, "This was my only pair too. Now I gotta walk around in a wet sock and shoe all day." I tried shaking my foot to get rid of some of the wetness, but to no avail.

From my left, Queen Hippolyta raised an eyebrow, "I had initially believed that due to the adrenaline of fighting so many enemies that you didn't even register that you were killing them, but this," She gestured to the dead carcass and what I was doing, "This does surprise me. You have taken a life before?"

Artemis gave me a sideways glance, before going back to whatever the fuck she was doing. I honestly wasn't paying attention to her anymore, she annoyed me and I annoyed her, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not overly concerned with her right now.

But back to the Queen, "Why yes your majesty, yes I have," I shrugged my shoulders, "Had to cross that bridge at some point, otherwise I wouldn't even be here right now."

Artemis snorted, "As if the princess would be _that _cruel. I've seen the way she looks at you and add on the fact that she doesn't have the necessary qualities to create such a training regiment, you'll have to forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

God, did she always have to sound like a bitch? But I had to admit, she had a point, "Yeah, Mom's a lot of things, but cruel ain't one of them. I was actually referring to my creator, Dr. Desmond. Guy was an asshole, a whiny asshole. You could say he was my father."

Hippolyta's face scrunched up in disgust and rage, "You mean he took my daughter's DNA and combined it with…"

Artemis made the same face. Made me wish I had a phone just to take a picture. I'd probably make it my wallpaper.

"No,no,no,no,no, god no," I hastily denied, shaking my head while making an X with my arms, "Hell no, I'd rather die than be a clone of that pitiful excuse of a human being. I use the term 'father' rather loosely, because if it wasn't for him, _I _wouldn't be here. I'd still be…"

I stopped myself, no point in wallowing in self pity. What's done is done, "Anyway, back to the original topic. Project Cadmus, the place that made me, would often put me into a gladiator arena to the death with their other creations. Obviously, I'd win every time, thus killing all opposition."

"Does my daughter know?" Hippolyta asked, wiping the blood off of her sword, "From what I remember, she hasn't taken a life since the world as achieved a somewhat peaceful state of being. She tends to look upon such actions as unsavory this time around."

"She was always too soft hearted, my Queen," Artemis added, "It took her quite a few days to get over her first kill, if I recall. I believe it was either a rabbit or a deer." She walked over to me, it was then that I noticed that she was taller than me by a few inches. That coupled with the blood on her and her glare, she made quite a terrifying sight.

_Though, she does look kinda hot like that. _

"When you took your first life, what was it like?" Artemis demanded, her giant battle axe on her shoulders, "What did you feel at that moment? Was it excitement? Anxiousness? Disgust? Happiness? Content? Orgasmic?"

I blinked at the last one, "Orgasmic? Lady, what the…"

"Answer the question."

I sighed, "I felt like shit, if you want a simplified version. Long version is that I honestly couldn't even cope with it properly. No emotional breakdown, no wailing, nothing. I don't know what they would've done to me if I had, so the best I could do was turn off my _everything_, if that makes sense. I won't say some cliche bullshit like, '_I didn't have a choice'_, that's just a poor excuse. In reality there isn't a way I can justify what I did, it was simply so I could survive. I murdered all my opponents so I could have the hope of seeing the outside."

The redhead held an unreadable gaze for a moment before a small grin made its way onto her face, "We just might make a fine warrior out of you yet, boy." She didn't say anything else after that, she just went back to doing what she was doing before.

I raised an eyebrow at her before Hippolyta spoke up again, another question on her mind, "While we're on the subject, are you a complete clone of Diana? Are you sure there wasn't any altercations to your genetics when you were being created?"

I looked at her oddly, "Uh. I'm pretty sure. Admittedly, there'd be no way of me knowing for sure since, you know, I wasn't psychologically aware during that stage, but I find it highly unlikely that they wouldn't make me a full clone, excluding the fact that we're both different genders, why?"

I continued to look at her oddly. What was she going on about now? I had a feeling that this wasn't about my fighting prowess, but a part of me couldn't help but feel a little pissed at the question. Who was she to question my existence? It's not like I asked for this.

For some reason her eyes had brief look of fear and regret, before it slipped into a mask of indifference, "Nevermind. It is of no importance at this moment in time. For now we must focus our efforts on supporting Diana and driving this attacker off of our island."

She walked ahead towards the temple, not saying another word. All I could do was exchange a look with Artemis, who looked equally confused and worried.

* * *

Her trek through the temple was mostly uneventful. This Faust must have believed that the guards he placed outside would be enough or that whatever he was doing wouldn't require a significant amount of time.

As she walked through the temple her mind wandered. Thinking of all of the things the man could be after. She wasn't exactly sure what was in here, considering it had been practically abandoned for the past thousand years. She was surprised that it didn't wither away during that time.

She came to a stop as she came upon a destroyed statue. It was split diagonally, from the left shoulder to the right hip, the upper portion nowhere to be seen, but the three headed dog at the statues feet gave away whose likeness once stood here.

Lord Hades.

"Quite the statue isn't it?" A male voice said from behind it, "Or at least it _was _until it got destroyed, you can imagine how he feels about the transgression more than I can. Since the Greek aren't known for being the most humble of gods."

The man she assumed to be Felix Faust, stepped out from behind the rubble. In his hand was the amulet that could petrify any who looked at it and it was pointed directly at her. From what she heard, all he has to do is speak a short incarnation and she'd be turned to stone. A grizzly fate, but one she was willing to accept if it meant the survival of her people.

"Who are you?" She, of course, knew who this was, but so long as he thought he had the advantage of being an unknown the longer she could coax information out of him. "Do you even know where you are?"

His smile grew a bit more smug, "Why, yes I do! Themyscira, Paradise Island, the home of the famous, or depending on who's telling, the infamous Amazons. Women just as strong as they are beautiful, and I must admit, so far I haven't been disappointed."

"What is it that you are after," She growled at the man. His smirk too wide and smug for her liking. If it was up to her, she would just attack him outright, but that would require her to be faster than his ability to chant. "Am I right in assuming it has something to do with Circe?"

"Ah, very astute of you, Wonder Woman," Felix said, his grin growing into a full smile, "And while we are on the subject, I do believe you _can _be of use to me. You've been gone from the island for so long I highly doubt you know where the object I'm looking for is, but, and here's a genuinely smart idea, _you_ will be my bargaining chip, my golden ticket if you will."

Diana snarled, "And why, pray tell, would I ever help you with something as asinine as that. I figured you for an average intelligent man, not a full on fool." Diana watched as the man's face twisted into a snarl of anger. Clearly, he hated being called stupid or anything similar.

"It seems it is _you _that doesn't understand a thing," He clicked his tongue, before a knowing grin worked its way onto his face, "Especially when it comes to that abomination of a creature you call a son."

Her eyes hardened, "You have approximately thirty seconds to explain yourself before I do something that you won't recover from. And believe me," She clenched her fist and watched as the man gulped in fear, "I will not lose any sleep over what I'm going to do."

"Right," His previous smug attitude now gone, "Well, it isn't certainly my secret to tell, I do believe I can point you in the right direction. Of course, you will have to do a _small _favor exchange."

"Once again, _why _would I ever do such a thing for someone like you?" She responded with her teeth gritting in both annoyance and anger, "Why don't I just run over there and pummel you until you do what I want?"

"Because Wonder Woman," He started turning the amulet to one of her putrefied sisters, "Only _I _possess the required knowledge and experience to revert your sisters back to normal. Allow me to demonstrate."

The amulet glowed with power as the image of Medusa came to life. "_Gravis Vitae!"_ Diana watched in both fascination and awe as the Amazon was shrouded in gold for a brief moment, before the stone began to fade off of her.

"Ah." The Amazon moaned in pain and Diana was by her side in an instant. The Amazon has brown hair that fell to the middle of her back, brown eyes set into a pained expression though, if one were to look at her up close they could see the face lines of a woman who would often glare. She wore all black with knives strapped to her thighs with a sword at her hip.

"Quite the troublesome woman that one," Faust commented, his expression bored, "Killed off most of my search party just to try and bait her into exposing herself. She's so good in fact, I'd be hard pressed to believe she wasn't involved in the Shadows."

"Princess?" The Amazon asked, completely dazed, before her eyes locked onto Faust. She shook her head as she made to draw her sword, "We have to stop him! The fool doesn't know…" She got up and began to charge him, ready to kill him without hesitation.

"Myrina! Wait!"

"Just as techinous and annoying too…" Faust drawled before raising the amulet once more. The assassin just a few feet away when he spoke another incantation, "_Patropa Kistes!" _

The Amazon was then petrified but not before saying, "_He intends to free…!_" Diana could only watch as Themyscira's top assassin was turned to stone before her eyes.

She snarled as she lunged for the amulet, "Gimme that!" She grabbed him by the cuff of his robes and made to reach for the object, before it moved and glowed once more.

"Ah. Apologies, did I fail to mention that I don't need to _speak_ to activate it?" His tone sarcastic and smug, "But look on the bright side. You can still be of help to me after all."

* * *

"Do you know what that was about?" I asked the redhead in front of me, who was busy cutting through shrubbery, "Or are in the dark as much as I am?"

We were currently making our way towards the temple. In an attempt to ambush whoever was attacking and provide assistance to my mother, if she needed it. If not, then at least I got to see more of the island and some action, even if it was with me beating the shit out of furries.

The Queen herself was behind us. Currently out of earshot and seemingly lost in her own world. She had been like that since we first started this trek of ours. Not that I was complaining, but I'd wish she'd stop staring at me like something from her past.

Artemis gave me a glance, "The Queen carries many burdens on her shoulders. Since becoming our ruler, she believed that she only can hold that weight. Thus it isn't uncommon for her to withhold certain secrets from her own people...even the ones she's supposed to trust the most."

"And I'm guessing that irks you the most, right?" I asked, "Don't get me wrong, I've only been alive for what? Three months? But I know when someone is projecting their problems onto me."

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Cadmus experience, I presume?"

"Yep." I popped the p, with a nod of my head, "Those were tough times, but enough about the depressing shit. Tell me about that _Axe_" I wouldn't have been surprised if I had stars in my eyes, but damn if that thing wasn't cool.

"Oh!" She let out a small smug laugh, "So you like _Mistress_, huh? Well I don't blame you, she's a force of nature. Something to be reckoned with. Hell, back in the old days, the amount, the _sheer _amount of kills I got with this thing…"

"Sorry to interrupt, but yes you're very old, I get it," I snarked, ignoring her growl and glare, "Can you let me use it or not? Or at least teach me how? Cause goddamn if it isn't beautiful."

"No." She denied. "Ask your mother to teach you. I'm a warrior not your babysitter."

"I don't need or want a babysitter, Artemis," I said, clearly offended, "I just thought, I don't know, you could teach me. Mom's still got me hung up on the bracers, said I won't learn anything else until I get a handle on them." I waved my arms for emphasis.

She raised her eyebrow at me, "So you decide to ask me? I don't know whether to be flattered or offended…"

"I'm working on getting the word _offlatered _patented and out in the Dictionary." I added with a grin on my face. All I got in response was a look that said I was a whole other kind of idiot. It just made me grin wider honestly.

"You're something else, you know that?"

I shrugged at her. But didn't say anything when Hippolyta shushed the both of us. It was surprising, considering that she had been quiet during our time in the woods so far. She then walked past the both of us, before parting a few leaves.

Beyond the leaves was a grayish temple that looked one earthquake away from being destroyed. Hippolyta looked around, "Appears to be absent of any hostiles, but…"

"But looks can be deceiving." I whispered, both women nodded and I asked, "So, it's your home, your rules. What's our course of action on this?"

Hippolyta looked to weighing her options before finally saying, "Follow me."

* * *

It didn't take us long till we found the main plaza. Granted having the Queen of the Amazons as a guide helped, but so did the path of Amazonian statues. I imagine that this place would've been grand back in its golden days. After all, the Greeks were known for their grand displays of superiority and longevity.

"Do you what he's after," I asked as Hippolyta led the way, "Cause him picking a fight with you guys seems pretty fucking stupid. All we know is that Circe's helping him, but other than that we're practically walking in blind."

Both Amazons looked at each other, but it was Hippolyta who spoke, "We have an idea of what he is after. The man is possibly looking for one of the keys to open the Gates of Tartarus, place housing spirits, demons, and banished gods. Hopefully Diana as managed to stop me before hand, but if not…"

"Surely, Myrina would've put an end to him already," Artemis suggested with a hand gesture.

"While I don't doubt her abilities as an assassin, she does tend to lose sight of the mission if she feels slighted in any shape or form, but let us hope for the best."

I allowed my mind to drift to for a second and began to look around, while they discussed their future actions. I paused when I noticed two statues. One cut in half and another with her fist drawn back and the other hand held as if she was threatening someone before her petrifaction.

"What…" I ignored both women as I walked closer to get a better look. I wish I hadn't because what greeted me was the sight of my petrified mother snarling in rage, "Mother..?" I blinked, my eyes refusing to believe what I was seeing.

Diana...had lost?

Worse...she might _never_…

"A shame really, I tried to get her to see reason," A smug voice sighed in fake disappointment, "But alas, it was not to be. She will however still have a purpose, even if it is as a useless stone statue."

I clenched my fists.

"That purpose being my perfect bargaining chip." He laughed as he appeared in a swirl of pink and purple magic. His face so _damn punchable _that it was legitimately getting hard to restrain myself. Luckily, I wasn't the only one there, otherwise I don't know what I would've done.

"You will not get your prize!" Hippolyta snapped at the man, though made no move to attack him, "Every Amazon on this island is prepared to lay down their lives to deny you such power! It is our duty!"

"Are you sure?" He crossed his arms in satisfaction, "Surely you understand the love a son can have for his mother don't you? Or at least attempt to understand? Sons would move mountains, kill the very gods themselves for the safety of their mother." He smirked at me like I was a winning lotto ticket, "And look who's son is right in front of me."

Before I could stop myself, I was already holding him in the air by his neck, all it would take is one squeeze. _Just one._ "Why the _fuck _should I help you?! I know at _minimum _five people that can reverse what you've done here! One of whom, I don't feel like owing a favor too, but I'd rather go to him than work with a _worm _like you!" I glared at him, even as he maintained that cocky attitude.

"You could! You could get those people to help you, but you, and by extension them, will find removing a deadman's curse next to impossible." My grip slackened, even as I heard the two women behind me telling me otherwise, "So what will it be _momma's boy_? Will dear mommy get free, or will she be damned to be a statue until the end of time?"

There really wasn't a choice, was there?

* * *

**A/N: Dude, I've had a week off from work, and my mind has been going into overdrive with ideas for this story. I'm talking **_**With This Ring **_**levels of deviation. Hell, at one point I had a clear idea of how I was going to kill off Lucas(don't worry I'm not gonna do it!) and replace him with Troia as the lead, only for him to come back due to Blackest Night...and that was the most **_**tame **_**idea I had.**

**Don't worry that's not gonna happen.**

**So anyway, this little arc as another three or four chapters, depending on how long the chapters are. Plus, for those asking how he knows movies, tv shows, and other stuff like that. I'm sorry for the confusion; Lucas is a Self-insert. He doesn't know about Young Justice, And is only going off his knowledge from the comics and DC Animated Universe. Hope that clears it up.**

**PS. Lucas' love interest is gonna be shown in either the next chapter or one after that.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Combatant **_

* * *

"So," Artemis didn't sound too impressed, given where she came from I'd imagine it would be hard to be, "Is _this _the place you were looking for? The last time you thought we had the right place, some guy almost pissed himself. Most likely in fear and I think he called the local authorities as well."

We must have made for quite the sight. Two beautiful women armed with weapons and clad in armor similar to Wonder Woman's, accompanied by a sixteen year old dressed in running clothes standing in broad daylight. Each of us looking pissed off.

In front of us was a townhouse, you know? Those types of buildings that had two houses side by side, like joined at the hip kind of houses? Any way, it was a regular brown color, with a well flourished and maintained lawn and a red brick pathway. Place must have cost a fortune.

The sun had just begun to reach its apex, so I'd say it was about two in the afternoon, maybe one thirty. But that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was seeing if the guy that lived there would be able to help me get my mom back.

And if not, Lucifer was just on the other side of the states. In Los Angeles, if I'm not mistaken. Which, given the fact that I have no clue what universe I'm in, it might as well be a wild goose chase.

Hippolyta sighed, "Artemis, now isn't the time to mock the poor boy," She narrowed her eyes at the men walking by, who were staring at her and Artemis' asses with no shame whatsoever, "The sooner we get the aid that we require, the better. For both our sake and the populace's."

I shook my head, "Welcome to New York, my Queen. Believe me, this is one of the better parts of the state. Just imagine the traffic if we went to it's capital!" I snarked with false cheer in my tone.

The closest Zeta tube happened to be in Manhattan, so we had to take a cab from there all the way down to its border. Where New York and Gotham met, it was in some city that didn't exist in my last universe, so the name kind of slipped from my mind. Granted I was never one to remember the names of cities, but my point still stood.

But enough stalling, time to get down to business. I knocked on the black door twice, and rang the doorbell. From the other side, I heard the sounds of feet padding against the floor, accompanied by someone saying '_I'll get it!'_

Not even a second later, I heard the sound of locks being undone and the door opening. A girl, probably no older than fifteen, was on the other side. Her bright cyan eyes a cross between amazement, disbelief, hero worship, and shock. She had medium length black hair and a _very _slender build. For clothes, she wore black pants, a bright red top, and black tennis shoes.

A smile worked its way on my face, she was just _stunning_, "Well, _hello_, beautiful. Name's Lucas, friend's call me Luc, but _you_," I slid right up to her and gave her my most charming smile, "You can call me whatever you like, gorgeous!" I winked at her and I swear I heard a heart stop for a second.

It was more than likely mine, but that's besides the point.

I heard gagging behind me, but chose to ignore it, "Well, gorgeous? You gonna tell me your name or are you just gonna keep staring at me? I don't mind either way if I'm being completely honest, I could get lost in those eyes forever."

That shook her out of her stupor, though she had a bit of pink dusting her cheeks. Hah! Knew I was hot! "Oh! Right! I'm Zatanna, friends call me Zee for short. It's nice to meet you, Lucas!" She reaches for a handshake and gladly reciprocated it.

"Nice to meet you too," I smiled, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be single, would you?" I had never asked out a girl before, not in my last life any way, but somehow, I knew that if I didn't at least _try _with Zatanna I'd never get this chance again.

Zatanna smirked, "Are you asking me out on a date? In front of both your female friends?" She looked past me to wave at both of the Amazons, "Nice to meet you two by the way!" She then looked at me, "You know that goes against the sisterhood code and common sense, right?"

I winked at her, "See, they don't count! The redhead's my aunt, her name's Artemis by the way, and the brunette, Hippolyta, is my grandma. So I'm good to go on that front, all I need now is a response."

Zatanna's coy look left her face as she blinked, "She's your grandma? Huh. She doesn't look a day over thirty. Do you know her secret?"

"Sadly, I don't, but you obviously don't need such a thing," I waggled my eyebrows, "As far as I can tell, you're the only beauty here."

She giggled. I gave a mental cheer and did a victory dance in my head. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last as Hippolyta had to cut through my mojo like a knife did butter. "Lucas' asinine attempts at flirting aside, is this the residence of Giovanni Zatara?"

"Erm, yeah." Zatanna looked both confused and worried, "He's inside, I can go get him if you'd like. Also, is this a Justice League thing? It looks and feels like a Justice League thing."

"That'd be perfect, thank you." Hippolyta gave the girl a smile of gratitude, but once the door closed it slipped off her face as she turned to look at me.

"What?"

Hippolyta sighed, but Artemis just smacked me on the back of my head, and I'm pretty sure if I was _anyone _else I would've been unconscious. I didn't shout or scream, we were already getting unnecessary attention, didn't want to make a scene as well.

"What was the for?!"

"We are on a mission or did you forget?" Artemis glared at me, clearly not amused, "You flirting with the girl is wasting the limited amount of time we have! Or is she more important than freeing _your_ mother and her people?"

I clenched my fist, "You _know_ that's not how it is. Besides with Zatara's help we'll be able to find all of the pieces _faster_ than what it would've taken just going at it blind." I crossed my arms at her, "Plus I wasn't flirting, I was just being friendly."

She snorted. "That's a load if I ever heard one."

"Don't get mad at me because the last time you got laid was in the fucking forties." I shot back.

Hippolyta got in between us before anything drastic happened, "Enough! We don't have time for any internal squabbles! When this is over and Faust's head is on a pyke then you two can have at each other, but until then, and _only _then, I don't want _any_ form of hostility between you two. Do I make myself clear?!"

Artemis looked a little ashamed, before backing off, but I didn't. In fact, it made me angrier, but I didn't have a chance to voice that anger, because the door was opened once more. This time by a middle aged man, in tan shorts and a white polo shirt. He had black hair with signs of white hair coming in, green eyes, and a prominent black mustache. All in all, he looked like you're average single father, but I knew who he really was. Slightly behind was Zatanna, her eyes full of curiosity and wonder.

He recognized me right away, his eyes widening just a bit, "Lucas Prince? What are you doing here? Where is Wonder Woman?"

"Yeah, it would've been nice to officially meet you due to better circumstances, but I, _we_, came here because," I paused, looking back at the street, which wasn't empty and had multiple pairs of eyes on us. Great, "Actually, do you mind if we do this inside?"

He looked around as well, "Of course, but I'd like a full explanation. Preferably one that explains why the Queen of the Amazons and one of Wonder Woman's closest friends is at my door armed for war."

I looked at him, shocked. So did my two female companions, hell even Zatanna looked shocked. Zatara just sighed and gestured to come inside, "Well? Come on, we don't have all day. I have some shows to catch-up on."

We all walked in, with Artemis closing the door behind us, It was then that I decided to answer Zatanna's question from earlier, "Eh. Less of a League thing and more of an Amazon thing." I shrugged, giving off an air of nonchalance, though I was feeling the complete opposite.

Funnily enough, Zatanna did make it a bit easier to deal with and she didn't even know it, "You mean like Wonder Woman?! That's so _cool_," She gushed at the three of us, and Zatara just sighed once more, "Are you Wonder Woman's apprentice or something similar?"

"It's like we aren't even here," Artemis whispered to both Zatara and Hippolyta, who looked at both children with an unreadable look, "My Queen? Are you alright?"

Hippolyta shook her head and gave the redhead a smile, "Yes, I'm fine. Recent events have tested my state of being, but I'll manage. Just like how you and Lucas are, though with a bit less hotheadedness."

Artemis didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything else.

"Zatanna," Zatara tapped on his daughter's shoulders, "Don't you have a paper you should be writing? The one that's supposed to be five pages long?"

"Don't worry, Dad!" She chirped with a smile, "It's already done and everything, just need to print it out, put it in a folder and all that good stuff."

"Huh, you guys are still in school? Isn't it like late July or something?"

"Well, given that I take AP classes, my teachers like to assign work over the summer," Zatanna shrugged, "Guess we all can't have our cake and eat it, right? What about you? What school do you go to?"

"Really? Out of all the things you could've asked, you ask what school I go to?" I teased and got a playful shove in response, "And I'm currently being homeschooled, so to speak. Being Wonder Woman's apprentice has taken up most of my time."

"_Cool_," She gushed once more, "So, you being a hero gets you out of school? That's gotta be nice. I've tried asking my dad to do the same…"

"Which you aren't."

"But he won't budge." She sighed in defeat, before perking up once more, "I'll go get you all something to drink. Any preferences?"

"No."

"No, thank you."

"You got any lemonade?"

"Some tea please. Thank you Zatanna."

"Yep."

When she went into the kitchen, Zatara finally asked the million dollar question. Guy probably didn't want to talk hero business around his daughter. He led us into his living room and gestured for us to take a seat.

"So," The Justice League's leading expert on the arcane started, "What has made you require the help of a man such as I?"

* * *

Hippolyta was the one that explained the situation to him. Her tone grave, angry, and with a hint of pleading for help. From what I remembered from her character, she was never one to accept help from the outside world, much less a male, but given the fact that both notions of her character had been disproven at this very moment. I was honestly wondering what was going through her head.

The three of us were currently sitting on Zatara's black leather couch, with him sitting in an adjacent lazy boy, his hands under his chin acting as a bridge as he held a contemplating look. Zatanna was excused, (Ie: Told to go to her room) and was doing some schoolwork or something or the other.

Zatara took a sip from his tea once Hippolyta finished explaining the situation, "Felix Faust, hmm? Quite the annoying pest, that one. The man is known for selling his soul for either knowledge or power, sometimes both. Last I heard, he had made a deal with Circe," Noticing our questioning looks, he added, "I'm not sure what the nature of their deal was, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say it had to deal with power, at least on Faust's end."

The three of us nodded, but I was the only one to speak, "Yeah, we kind of figured as much, but the question that really needs answering is; What does Circe get out of it?" He shrugged, which was understandable considering he more than likely never had a run in with the goddess before.

"You mean other than causing strife for our people and relishing in making our Queen suffer," Artemis asked, for once not sarcastic or condescending, "I admit, I don't have the faintest idea. It would've been sensible to ask Diana, but…" She trailed off as the three of us looked down. Each of us glowering in rage and sadness, none more so than me.

He didn't say anything, but I could tell he looked a little uncomfortable, "Right. But why not go to the league? Surely, _this_ would rate an approval for a full League response. Why didn't you just go straight to them?" At that everyone in the room looked at me. All of them were curious to hear my reasoning.

"It's not like I didn't think of it," I started, trying to pull my thoughts together and word them properly, "I played with the idea for a little bit, but ultimately dismissed it because there's no way I could _get _one. Batman is busy with whatever the fuck he's got going on with Red Tornado. The Hawks and Lanterns are off-world from what Diana told me, Superman got his hands full with his identity and Metropolis, Captain Atom, well I have no idea where to find him, much less contact him. I maybe could've gotten help from the Flash and Aquaman, and that's a big _maybe_. Green Arrow and Black Canary wouldn't have been any help since I doubt they'd know where to look."

"Hmm," Zatara hummed as the two Amazons remained silent, "Okay. I have no problem believing that, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, for Wonder Woman. But answer me this. Why come to _me_? I know why you said you didn't but, you still could've gone to Batman, that's what I would've done. Batman isn't called a world renown detective for nothing."

I sighed, and pulled out the four red stones that Faust gave to us, each small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, and placed them on the coffee table in front of me, "Two reasons. Reason one, being that I want to keep this as quiet as possible. I'm not entirely sure what circles Faust is in and I don't want him to start killing Amazons if he so much as _suspects_ a full League retaliation. The second reason being that Faust said that these stones were magically attuned to the artifacts that he needs, I figured that you could, I don't know, do a location spell and show us where they're at." I paused to drink a bit of my lemonade, to refresh my thoughts and have a moment to enjoy my favorite drink.

"What circles," Hippolyta brought a hand to her chin as she processed that bit of info, "You think there might be a spy within the league?"

That halted my current thought process and made me blank for a moment. Zatara also seemed intrigued by that as well. "Eh, I have a few lessons on espionage and Shadow tactics floating around in this glorious head of mine." I shrugged before turning towards my grandmother, "It's like I told you before, they wanted me to know _war _to its fullest extent."

"So," Artemis this time, "They trained you to be a super spy of some sort?" She looked at me with mysterious gleam. Probably piecing together why I shrugged off killing hordes of furries earlier.

"If you wanna make it simple, then yeah," I nodded to her with a smile, "But, back on topic. I only say that because I'm being cautious. I'm sure the three of you understand that and why I don't want any hiccups along the way."

Hopefully that was enough to stop any further questions. I'm not entirely sure if there even is a spy in the League and the last thing I want to do is sow seeds of distrust amongst the members.

"Anyway, like I was saying, I know of at least five different people with their fingers in the magic kool-aid, but out of those five you're the only magical person in the League, and the only one I know of that won't try to weasel some sort of prize out of this," I took a sip of my lemonade as I let that sink in with the adults in the room.

"Five?" The magician asked with a raised eyebrow, and I could tell the two women next to me were curious as well. Nonchalantly, I shrugged as I looked into my cup of lemonade.

"Cadmus liked to cover all of their bases," I said while putting the cup down and leaning back, "While I like to think they strictly believed in science they couldn't outright deny the existence of the mystical arts. They wouldn't have been able too. So, they, like the madlads they are," I made a finger pistol with my hand and put it up to my temple, "Shot that knowledge into me, too."

Zatara looked like he wanted to say more on the matter, but let it slide due to the current time crunch on our hands. So I waited as Zatara leaned over and grabbed one to inspect it, silence reigned supreme as he brought it up close and examined it. He went so far as to roll it in between his fingers and give it a sniff, "Interesting. Alright, I'll help you all."

The three of us looked at each other then back at the leaguer, our eyebrows raised in curiosity and surprise. Somewhat taken aback by the looks he said, "What? I wouldn't be much of a hero if I turned down a cry for help, now would I?"

* * *

"This the place?" Artemis asked as the three of us walked through a museum I couldn't have been bothered to remember, the three of us getting lingering gazes, though that was more due to Artemis' and Hippolyta's state of dress.

The place wasn't overly crowded, which was a definite plus, but there were still civilians walking and talking. Some paused to stare at us, others went about their business as if this wasn't anything unusual at all.

There must have been a school field trip going in today. I had never seen so many bored looking teens in a museum unless they needed to be there. More than likely to either help with grades or just to get out of school.

Eh. Wasn't really my problem anymore, considering the fact that there's no way in hell that I'd be going to school again. But the looks on their faces were pretty hilarious, trying and failing to look interested.

"Yeah," I replied as we turned another corner, the stone in my started to pulsate faster. Which meant that we were getting closer. "Don't tell me you have a phobia of big crowds. Aren't you supposed to be a fearsome warrior? A femme fatale?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, for once not rising to the bait, "No, you little brat, such fears are irrelevant and beneath me. I'm only asking because the longer we stay here the more likely I am to kill a man if I catch someone else staring at my ass." To emphasize her point, she turned towards a group of teenagers that were blatantly staring at her. When they met eye contact they quickly turned away.

Heh.

I looked at her, "Hey now, girls would _kill_ for the kind of attention that you two are getting. Hell, I even see a few of em contemplating murder over there. Must be the insecure cheerleaders."

Hippolyta rolled her eyes, "Such things are irrelevant." She chimed in with her own input. It was actually the first time she had spoken since we left Zatara's house. Which I found a little strange, but at the end of the day I just assumed she was just under a lot of stress. Having a set time limit to save all of your people would do that to someone I guess.

"At the moment or in general?" I asked as I flashed her a smile. I knew what she was going to say before she even registered my question, but it was nice to have her talking once again and not stuck inside her head.

"Both." She answered, her tone full of disappointment and disapproval, "Are women in man's world so weak willed that they feel the need to crave for the attention of everyone around them?"

Artemis let out a sound of agreement as she looked at the various artifacts and sculptures we walked by. It seemed she was interested or at the very least letting her eyes wander. That was good, I suppose.

"Eh. Not most of them." I responded with a shrug of my shoulders. I never had much experience with women in my past life, but the few I had the displeasure of meeting were like that. "This looks like this is it." I stopped in the center of a giant room, the stone pulsating like mad.

I turned my body until the stone became a solid bright red. In front of me was a display holding what looked to be a clay vase and flanked on both sides were two tall statues, of Greek origin, that reached up to the buildings ceiling.

"So." I started, the three of us each looking at the ground, "Who wants to do the honors? I personally think Artemis should do it." I offered to the redhead, who looked at me for a solid second before rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, guess I'll add cowardice to your growing list of deficiencies," She tossed a snide remark, though it just rolled off my back like water on a duck. I was hoping to start a new life in this world and having the title of Anarchist attached to my name wouldn't do me any favors.

I had volunteered Artemis because she was both strong as shit and wouldn't be affected by the negative consequences in the long run since once this was over she'd pack up her shit and head back to Themyscira with the Queen.

There was hardly any inside so it was rather easy for the redhead to walk up to the display and thrust her inside, like it was paper. An alarm sounded off as she went to pull the vase out, which was a given, but something about this seemed off.

Suddenly, steel doors dropped down, covering the windows, the main entrance. "Well that's just great," Artemis snarked with a roll of her eyes, "Steel doors, oh whatever shall we do?"

I know the situation was serious but I couldn't help but stare at her, "Did...did you just make a joke? That wasn't at my expense?"

She looked at me, "Everything's not about you Lucas. I am capable of displaying my comedic and sarcastic nature whenever I see fit."

Before I could retort, the three of us heard the sound of stone grinding against itself. My eyes immediately shot towards both the statues, which actually turned out to be automatons. Both drew their swords and looked at Artemis, or more accurately, the case in her hands.

This was fine, I needed something to hit. "Looks like it's a fight-for-the-right kind of deal." I flew forward and delivered an uppercut to the one on Artemis' left, the impact echoing through the room, "I got dibs on this one. You two handle the other one!"

If they responded, I didn't hear them, I just focused on the enemy in front of me. The automaton recovered quick enough that it was on me once again. This time swinging its sword to try and cut me in half. I brought both my hands together and caught the attack.

I grinned as I applied enough pressure to destroy the sword, "Is that all you got, mate?!" It dropped the handle and moved to punch me, but that didn't matter, I blocked it with my wrist guards and gave it a punch of my own.

The sound of its fist cracking and the resulting stone falling to the ground was music to my ears, "This can't be all you have, can it?" I watched as it backed away from me, clutching at its missing hand. How..human like. "You were made by Hephaestus, were you not? Come on, there's no way that he'd make something this pathetic."

The eyes began to glow a dark red, as if enraged, "Yeah! That's more like….?!" I felt a lasso wrap itself around my waist and pull me towards the ground. What the hell, was my immediate thought, but I quickly squashed that once I saw a piece of the ceiling fall in the exact spot I was previously in.

I landed on the ground with a wide-eyed look, "Huh, thanks." I followed the lasso, even as I felt it loosen, and believe me. I did not like what I saw on the other end, "Oh, you gotta be shitting me."

"Pay attention to your surroundings!" Artemis yelled, even as Hippolyta shielding her from an overhead strike, "We can't fight _and _babysit you!"

I didn't say anything, I just focused on my fight. When I turned back to my opponent, it was back on me again. Using its other fist to try and pummel me it to the ground. This was fun at first, but now it was just boring. I caught the fist with both my hands and yelled, "Artemis! Pass me your sword!"

I didn't wait for a word of confirmation or even an acknowledgement, I just heard the sound of metal cutting through air and took that as my signal. I quickly let go and pushed myself back, letting the fist hit the ground and cause the ground to shake.

I ignored it in favor of catching the Amazonian sword. I quickly grabbed it and jumped with one fluent motion. It tried for a grab, but it was already too late. I landed on its fist and swung the blade at the wrist. With that out of the way, I shot forward. It tried to backpedal in some attempt to get away, but it was pointless. I was already upon him, the sword in my grip cutting into its neck like a knife would butter.

A simple and clean cut.

It started to fall to pieces and by the time it reached the ground it was nothing but lifeless stone. "Well I got mine! What about you guys!" I looked over to see that theirs was stone as well.

I landed just a few feet away from them, "Well, that was fun! At least for me," I looked around and noted that most of the artifacts in here were destroyed, "_Buuuut _I'm sensing that it's about time that we left."

They said nothing. Weird. "Hey, I know I violate everything you both stand for, both morally and scientifically, but I had thought we had gotten past it." I walked closer and noticed that they were staring at the very thing we were supposed to find.

In Artemis' hand was a grey stone cylindrical object, "Okay. What the fuck is that." I asked, "And please don't tell me it's some sort of ancient pleasuring device."

That snapped them out of whatever funk they were in, "No, you troglodyte!" Artemis snapped, "And give me back my sword! This is the only and last time you get to touch her! By the gods above, I don't know what I was thinking." She reached over and snatched it from my hands. Rude.

"A piece of the key," Hippolyta broke her silence, her tone filled with pain, regret, and about every negative emotion I could think of, "It is the very reason why I distrust Man."

Normally, I'd crack a joke at this point in time, but seeing both women look so sad _and _angry made me think better of it. Judging by their reactions and basing it off of what I remember, I want to say it involves a betrayal of the highest order. Maybe, it had something to do with Ares? I know they absolutely loathed both him and Heracles.

I sighed and looked at the both of them, "I guess this brings up memories better left buried. Something that didn't affect just you two, but all of the Amazons as a whole?"

They didn't say anything. They didn't have to, their silence spoke louder than their words ever could. "You don't have to tell me the backstory behind it. I know you both might call bullshit, but _I get it_. We've all got our demons. Our skeleton in the closet that we never want to see again." They both remained silent, but they didn't seem so tense anymore. "But, please, I need to know what it's for. I have to know what we're giving Faust."

"It's a piece of the key to Tartarus," Hippolyta answered, and I felt a pit begin to form in my stomach, "The pit of lost souls. If it were to be opened, even if for a fraction of a second." She closed her eyes to collect herself. In this moment, in this one second, I saw how broken she truly was and just as fast as it appeared it disappeared.

She opened her eyes, once again adopting a blank mask. Something that probably took years to master, "It will mean complete subjugation of the world as a whole. Starting with my sisters. From there the horrors of Tartarus will find their way to Man's world."

"The spirits in Tartarus are that evil?" I asked in disbelief, "Granted I understand, it's where the evil ones get banished to, but they would be that cordial enough with one another to construct a conquest of humanity?"

Artemis shook her head, taking the reins from Hippolyta and leading the conversation, "No. As of right now, the spirits are mindless creatures, subservient to their own selfish desires. It is the one that commands them that we should be concerned about. Under his control, they will have both the numbers and mentality to usurp the world's proper balance."

"And considering Circe is helping all of this from the sidelines, I assume that someone is a major player in the Greek pantheon," I surmised. At the nods of both the women, I instantly knew who it was we were dealing with.

It must have shown on my face, because Artemis almost looked impressed, "What do you know? You can use that pitiful excuse of a thing you call a brain." She smirked at me,but through her eyes I could tell she was being completely serious.

"That's right, brat. It looks like we're up against Lord Hades, God of the Dead."

* * *

_**2020 ain't got shit on me….**_


End file.
